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CQEffilGHT DEPOSm 



Some Letters of 
Monsignor Louis E. Caillet and A. N. Chemidlin 

1868 — 1899 




IN THE ALHAMBRA, 1889 



SOME LETTERS 

OF 

Monsignor Louis E. Caillet 



AND 



August N. Chemidlin 

1868-1899 



Edited by 
CLARA HILL LINDLEY 



Printed for private circulation 

St. Paul, 1922 



COPYRIGHTED 1922 
BY CLARA HILL LINDLEY 



MAR -9 1922 



0)C!.A6548?8 



^^' 






CONTENTS 

Father Caillet - - - 3 

Rev, Humphrey Moynihan, S, T, D, 

August Nicholas Chemidlin ------ 29 

Clara Hill Lindley 

Letters ------ 39 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

In the Alhambra, 1889 ------- Frontispiece 

Father Caillet ------------- 4 

Mother of Father Caillet ---------- 4 

St. Paul Cathedral ------------ 4 

St. Paul in the 'Fifties ----------- 6 

St. Mary's Church ------------ 22 

August Chemidlin and His Wife ------- 28 

Mary Hill --------------- 32 

Louis and James Hill ----------- 32 

Clara Hill --------------- 32 

Mrs. Prince -------------- 38 

Mrs. Shawe - - - ----- ----- - 38 

John S. Prince ------------ 33 

August Chemidlin ------------ 42 

Charlotte Prince ------------- 44 

Nettie and Mamie Prince ---------- 44 

Fanny Prince -------------- 44 

Emma Prince -------------- 48 

John Prince, Jr. ------------- 43 

The Prince House, Eighth St. ----- - 60 

James Jerome Hill ----------- 54 

Mrs. Hill --------------- 54 

The Hill House (1884) --------- - 60 

Charlotte Hill ------------- 68 

Ruth and Rachel Hill ----------- 68 

L. Caillet --------------- 80 

Gertrude Hill -------------- 92 

Walter Hill -------------- 92 

Grace Prince ----------- 92 

Alice Shawe -------------- 92 

At North Oaks Farm ---------- 94 

Monsignor Louis Caillet ---------106 

A. Chemidlin -------------- ne 

Interior St. Mary's Church, 1922 - - - - - - 118 



FATHER CAILLET 



FATHER CAILLET. 

Of the early years of Louis Eugene Caillet 
little is known. He was born in Lyons, Novem- 
ber 21, 1832, in a home rich in naught save the pi- 
ety that has given to the world the missionaries of 
France. How much his mother had to do with 
shaping the aspirations of his boyhood may be 
gauged from the very tender affection he always 
bore her; the members of his household were famil- 
iar with the picture that throughout his life held 
the place of honor on his desk. For a priest of 
Lyons, chaplain of a Convent, he also entertain- 
ed an enduring regard, the man who divined the 
possibilities slumbering in the soul of the youth 
and kindled them to a flame of holy ardor for the 
missionary life. With the prudence that was to 
characterize him all his days, Louis Caillet did not 
definitely decide to enter the ranks of the priest- 
hood until he had knelt at the feet of the Cure of 
Ars and heard from his lips words that he regarded 
as prophetic. He took up his higher studies in a 
seminary at Lyons, and was quietly pursuing his 
course there, wondering the while in what land his 
lot would be cast, when, one day, a priest from 
America came in search of candidates for the Dio- 
cese of St. Paul. It was the saintly Father Ra- 

[3] 



FATHER CAILLET 

voux. He had much to tell the students of life 
among the Indians, of the quest for lonely settlers 
in forest and prairie, of the beginnings of religion 
on the banks of the Mississippi, of the sore need of 
priests in far-off Minnesota. He told how he him- 
self had been for seven years in the wilds without 
a brother priest ; how only three years before Bishop 
Cretin, on taking possession of his See, was wel- 
comed with a Te Deum in a little log chapel that 
was his cathedral ; and how in his whole Diocese — 
in all the territory between the Mississippi and the 
Missouri, between the Iowa line on the South and 
the British border on the North — he had found 
only one priest. He was calling for men willing 
to face toil and hardship, and Louis Caillet was 
one of those who answered the call. With six 
companions: Felix Tissot of Lyons, Claude 
Robert of Le Puy, Anatole Oster, George Keller, 
Francis Hurth, and Valentine Sommereisen of 
Strasbourg, he set sail for America. In later 
years he used to tell with much amusement how 
Father Ravoux laid down a stringent code of rules 
and regulations for his charges, and how his plan 
to establish a miniature seminary on the high seas 
was sadly upset by the innocent pranks of two of 
the younger "seminarians" bent on whiling away 
the tedium of a voyage extending over forty-five 
days. 

On the afternoon of Friday, June 16, 1854, the 
future missionaries landed on the wharves of St. 

[ 4 ] 




FATHER LOUIS CAILLET 

Soon after his Ordination 




MOTHER OF FATHER CAILLET 




CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL ON SIXTH AND WABASHA STREETS 

Built hij Bishop Cretin 



FATHER CAILLET 

Paul. On reaching the Cathedral they found 
Bishop Cretin teaching catechism. The Bishop 
lost no time in setting them at work. Their first 
task was to prepare for the procession of the Bles- 
sed Sacrament around the Cathedral block on the 
following Sunday, for it was the Sunday within 
the octave of Corpus Christi. 

A frontier town in the Northwest in 1854 was 
full of strange interest for the young men fresh 
from France. Only a few years before, the spot 
on which St. Paul stood was a wilderness. The 
little log chapel that Father Galtier had built in 
1840, the "basilica," as he called it, "so poor that 
it recalled the stable of Bethlehem," told them how 
close they still were to the crude beginning of 
things. And yet, the air was full of forecasts of a 
wonderful future for the town. Every speech in 
those days was adorned with a few well-worn lines 
of Whittier: 

I hear the tread of pioneers 

Of nations yet to be — 

The first low wash of waves, where soon 

Shall roll a human sea. 

At no distant date the wilderness would blossom 
like the rose; the Indian lodges aroimd the town 
would disappear; Atlantic and Pacific would be 
bound by long slender lines of steel; New Orleans 
would be brought within reach of St. Anthony. 
These were the dreams of the settlers of the early 
fifties. And, indeed, the fame of Minnesota, of its 

[ 5 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

prairies and their mold of a thousand years, of its 
pineries and primeval forests, of its countless lakes 
and broad-bosomed rivers, was spreading far and 
wide, and from East and South families were pour- 
ing in to seek their fortune in the land of promise. 
One day the Democrat would announce that "six 
steamboats arrived yesterday and landed about six 
hundred passengers." Another day the Minnesota 
Pioneer would boast that St. Paul was fast donning 
the aspect of a city: "After dark the lights gleam 
from the dwellings in multitudinous twinklings like 
fire-flies in a meadow." But the pages that paint- 
ed such roseate pictures of St. Paul and augured 
such a golden future for it, would also record a 
skirmish between Sioux and Chippewas, ancient 
enemies, in one of its principal streets. 

Three years of study and preparation for the 
sacred ministry were passed in the Cathedral Res- 
idence. It will be recalled that the Cathedral of 
that day was a composite building of three stories. 
On the first floor were a parlor, the parish library, 
a dining-room, a kitchen, and a class room. The 
second story was given over to the church. On 
the third story were rooms for the Bishop and the 
priests, the seminarians' dormitory, study hall, and 
class rooms. Louis Caillet received his initiation 
into the simple ways of missionary life when he 
saw Bishop Cretin sweeping his own room, making 
his bed, chopping wood, working in the garden, 
and busy with many other occupations strangely 

[6] 




x 



y. 



< 




FATHER CAILLET 

out of keeping with those of an episcopal palace 
in France. The seminarians, too, were busy with 
a variety of duties from early morning, when the 
Bishop roused one of them to serve his Mass, cel- 
ebrated punctually at five o'clock, until they re- 
tired at night. Now and again, one or other of 
them accompanied the Bishop on his trips through 
the Diocese, sharing the fatigue of the rude roads 
and the discomfort of log houses. The close of 
Bishop Cretin's life was clouded with much suffer- 
ing. During his last long illness Louis Caillet 
and Felix Tissot were in constant attendance on 
him, watching by his bed-side, doing all that affec- 
tion and fidelity could do to soothe his pain and 
cheer his lonely hours. Father Caillet always re- 
tained a vivid recollection of the Bishop's resigna- 
tion during the dreary months of his suffering. 
"As I cannot work," the Bishop would say, "I at 
least ought to offer my pains to God for the faith- 
ful and for all." His efforts, too, to continue his 
work in spite of constant distress and failing 
strength were a pathetic memory with those who 
were w^ith him to the end. 

Bishop Cretin died on the 22nd of February, 
1857. Bishop Grace was not to succeed him until 
two years later. For this reason Louis Caillet 
was ordained priest by Bishop Smith, coadjutor 
Bishop of Dubuque, on August 21, 1857. He 
was assigned to the Cathedral, and now and then 
tasted the hardships of missionary life on the long 

[ 7 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

trips he made among the scattered hamlets on the 
prairie. As pastor of the Cathedral he ministered 
quietly and steadily to the spiritual needs of his 
growing congregation. In 1865 he was commis- 
sioned by Bishop Grace to organize a new parish 
to be known as St. Mary's. On Pentecost Sun- 
day of the following year the corner-stone of the 
new Church was laid with much ceremony. It 
was a beautiful afternoon towards the end of May, 
and all St. Paul turned out for the occasion. The 
Catholic societies of the Cathedral and Assump- 
tion parishes, the children who had received the 
sacrament of Confirmation in the morning, and 
who now marched singing Canticles in honor of 
the Blessed Virgin, the acolytes in their scarlet 
soutanes and spotless surplices (among them was 
a little boy who was to be the first Bishop of North 
Dakota, John Shanley), the nuns in their somber 
garb, the vested priests, and the Bishop with his 
guard of honor — this Catholic outpouring fifty- 
six years ago was an unwonted spectacle in a 
frontier town, and cheered the hearts of the Cath- 
ohc people of St. Paul. The parchment deposit- 
ed in the corner-stone will come to light again, 
when the church so auspiciously founded will be 
regretfully dismantled. It told how, on May 
20th, in the year of our Lord 1866, the twentieth 
of the Pontificate of Pius IX, the seventh of the 
episcopacy of Thomas Langdon Grace, Andrew 
Johnson being President of the United States, 

[ 8 ] 



FATHER CAILLE T 

William R. Marshall Governor of the State of 
Minnesota, and John S. Prince Mayor of the City 
of St. Paul, the corner-stone of St. Mary's was 
solemnly laid by the Bishop of the Diocese, at- 
tended by the clergy of the city and a large con- 
course of the faithful. A sermon full of unction 
and eloquence preached by Bishop Grace brought 
to a close a day that always lived in the memory 
of Father Caillet. 

Building a church in the year after the war 
was no light task. Father Caillet never forgot 
the generous co-operation given to him by five 
members of the parish — Messrs. John S. Prince, 
Philip McQuillan, Bruno Beaupre, Patrick H. 
Kelly and Patrick Nash. Neither did he ever for- 
get the sacrifices made by hundreds of his congre- 
gation, who were always so ready with a moiety 
of their scanty incomes. On July 28, 1867, to the 
great joy of priest and people, St. Mary's was 
dedicated. Father Oster, in the absence of Bish- 
op Grace, officiated. The sermon was preached 
bv Father Ireland, who took for his text the words 
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Father 
Ireland was, as Archbishop, to preach the sermon 
at the Silver Jubilee of St. Mary's, and again at 
its Golden Jubilee. 

For six and fifty years St. Mary's was destined 
to stand, a House of God, diffusing the blessings 
and consolations of religion to thousands of souls 
coming to seek what only the Catholic Church can 

[ 9 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

give, the truths and graces that Christ committed 
to the dispensing hands of His priesthood. In 
the words of Archbishop Ireland, it was the 
"House of God and the Gate of Heaven, pro- 
claiming to all the real purpose of life, and point- 
ing out to the present generation the blessed re- 
ward held out to those who serve God faithfullv." 
And its people loved it as the House of God. Thej^ 
were ever adding some new touch of loveliness to 
it, adorning it with tabernacle and font, with pic- 
tures and candelabra and exquisite vestments, 
sparing nothing that could contribute to the 
beauty of the sanctuary and the dignity of its serv- 
ices. Father Caillet's joy was full when, on 
March 22, 1882, a few friends subscribed the sum 
of twelve thousand dollars "to lift from the church 
the incumbrance which had been a source of anxi- 
ety to him;" and his happiness was no less keen 
than that of the little group of his parishioners who 
assembled in Mr. James J. Hill's residence that 
March evening to meet him and announce the 
good news to him. Piety reigned in the parish, 
and the spirit of charity made of the congregation 
one great family in which help was always ready 
and the sorrow of one was the sorrow of many. 
The life of a parish finds expression in its societies, 
which are simply so many organized systems of de- 
votion and charity; it is significant and interest- 
ing to recall the number of church societies called 
into being by the zeal of St. Mary's pastor: the 

[ 10 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

Rosary Society, the Young Ladies' Sodality, tlie 
Holy Angels' Sodality, the Society of the Holy 
Name, Knights of the Blessed Virgin, the St. Vin- 
cent de Paul Society, the Perpetual Adoration So- 
ciety, the League of the Sacred Heart, Ladies' 
Aid Society, Altar Society, Literary and Reading 
Circle. St. IVIary's Home for friendless girls was 
established in 1884, and was at first managed by 
ladies of the parish under the following Board of 
Directors: Mmes. J. J. Hill, P. F. McQuillan, J. 
T. Beaumont, J. McCauley, P. H. Kelly, H. 
Bamford, F. F. Mclver, P. R. L. Hardenbergh, 
J. H. Allen, B. Beaupre, F. Seymour, Alice 
Goodrich, D. Rvan, A. McDonald. It was sub- 
sequently committed to the charge of the Ladies 
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For several 
years the Orphan Asylum, the first institution of 
the kind in the Northwest, although not founded 
by Father Caillet, depended on him for the funds 
that maintained it. 

Mention should be made of an organization which 
was known wherever the name of St. Mary's was 
mentioned — St. Mary's choir. It dates back to the 
earliest days of the church. Under the directorship, 
first, of Mrs. A. M. Shawe, and, subsequently, of 
Miss Elsie Shawe, musicians of a high order and 
accomplished organists, by its exquisite rendering 
of ecclesiastical music and fidelity to its best tradi- 
tions, it contributed greatly to the sense of piety 
that always marked the services of St. Mary's. 

[ 11 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

Much of the marvelous record of this choir was due 
to the interest which Father Caillet always mani- 
fested in it as an organization and in its individual 
members. 

The completion of the church left Father Cail- 
let's hands free for a work which he deemed the 
most fruitful of his life — the building of St. Mary's 
school. To this task he bent all his energies and in 
1880 a structure of ample and dignified proportions, 
spacious and handsome, well appointed in every 
detail, faced the church, housing the children who 
thronged to it from all sides. His parish he now 
regarded as fully equipped: for his own comfort 
he had no thought, and so the little frame house 
adjoining the church continued to serve as his res- 
idence as long as he was pastor of St. Mary's. 

The school was the object of his special pride 
and solicitude. It was characteristic of the man 
that the young people who went out from its halls 
were not lost to view the day they received their 
diplomas. He kept steadily in touch with them, 
following them with helpful interest, enlisting the 
good will of men of affairs in their behalf, and en- 
couraging their laudable ambition in a practical 
way. The graduates of St. Mary's won their way 
to the confidence of merchants and bankers. For 
many men now holding posts of trust and emolu- 
ment in the Northwest the reputation of St. Mary's 
school first opened the door of opportunity. 

[ 12 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

And this was not the last service that Father 
Caillet rendered to the cause of education. The 
estabhshment of a convent of the Visitation nuns 
was for some years among his most cherished hopes. 
In 1872, with the authorization of Bishop Grace, 
he journej^ed to St. Louis to ask for a foimdation 
from the Motherhouse in that city. He went back 
in 1873 to renew the request, and in May of that 
year, two sisters, Mother M. Vincentia Marotte 
and Sister Xavier Wickham, visited St. Paul, re- 
maining for some days under the hospitable roof of 
Colonel J. S. Prince while plans for the coming of 
a Visitandine colony were being completed. Four 
trusted friends of Father Caillet — Messrs. J. S. 
Prince, P. J. McQuillan, B. Beaupre, and P. H. 
Kelly — took an active interest in the new enter- 
prise, and were instrumental in a large way in 
making the establishment of the Convent feasible. 
On August 12, 1873, six sisters, travelling under 
Father Caillet's care, arrived in St. Paul, and 
found a pleasant home awaiting them on Somer- 
set Street. The first Mass was celebrated in their 
oratory on the Feast of the Assumption, when en- 
closure was formally established. Father Caillet's 
wisdom has been richly vindicated. The history of 
the Visitation Community — the erection of the 
Convent at the corner of Robert Street and Uni- 
versity Avenue, and the erection of the splendid 
Convents in which the nuns now carry on their 
work, the contribution of the Community to Cath- 

[ 13 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

olic life in Minnesota, the impress stamped upon 
the young women who with the choicest graces of 
culture imbibed the spirit of enlightened piety that 
the Visitandines impart — all this is familiar to 
those who are acquainted with the forces diffusing 
the blessings of education and religion in the 
Northwest during the past forty years. Father 
Caillet would have rejoiced to see the stately Con- 
vent that is today the home of the nuns — the gift of 
one of tlieir own alumnae — but he did not live to 
see this happy fruition of his hopes. He watched 
to the last over the Convent, faithful guardian, 
guide, and friend of the Community for whose 
coming he had been so solicitous. 

Father Caillet was the ideal parish priest, the 
true pastor of souls. He could lay no claim to 
graces of oratory, in fact he never attained a facile 
command of English, and yet, his people never 
tired of his simple, solid instructions, setting forth 
the teaching of the Church and the duties of her 
children with a clearness and persuasiveness that 
charmed alike the humblest and the most cultured 
of his congregation. The piety and sincerity of a 
priestly soul touched his words with simple elo- 
quence — behind the words he spoke was the trans- 
parent goodness of the life he lived. As a spirit- 
ual guide he reminded one somewhat of the Cur^ 
of Ars, with whose spirit he seemed to have been 
penetrated. There is a sanity in saintliness that 
pierces unerringly to the heart of a problem. This 

[ 14 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

gift Father Caillet possessed, and with it a rare in- 
sight into character. Many a troubled soul went 
out from St. Mary's, carrying the peace and sure- 
ness that come from contact with one who dwells 
habitually in another world. 

He was the children's friend and father. 
Between child and priest exists one of the beauti- 
ful bonds of life. The priest looks at the child with 
some of the love of Him who would have the little 
ones come unto Him, and the child turns instinc- 
tively to the priest with trust and reverence. Father 
Caillet knew and loved children. He was interest- 
ed in them, in all their doings and all their ways. 
The school, which he built on a splendid scale and 
at the cost of much sacrifice, was, as we have said, 
the special object of his predilection. There he 
loved to tarry among the young folk, never growing 
weary of endless catechism, lighting up lessons 
with stories and illustrations the children could not 
forget. The privilege of preparing them for First 
Communion he jealously guarded for himself. 
When separated from them, they were ever in his 
thoughts. His letters had messages for them — 
messages that show how well he understood them. 
When lying ill at Lyons he fancied them playing 
under the window, or singing hymns to the Mother 
of the Lord around her statue half-hidden in the 
flowers of the garden. As the children of St. 
Mary's grew to manhood and womanhood under 
his fostering hands, they grew in reverence and af- 

[ 15 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

fection for their pastor and for the faith he so 
sweetly taught them. 

If Father Caillet is lovingly remembered by 
many who knew him as a priest and were trained 
in religion by him, he is still more affectionately 
remembered by the few who knew him also as a 
friend. For only a few knew him as he really was 
— the unsuspected fund of affection, the considera- 
tion for others that found expression in many 
touching, thoughtful ways, the gentle shrewdness 
that was never cynical and never credulous, the 
judicious mind that begot confidence, the kindly 
humor that flashed out so suddenly and so merrily, 
the quiet fearlessness that would hold calmly 
against pressure like a rock in a stream, the un- 
changing simplicity of soul, and, over all, and suf- 
fusing all, the priestly dignity of a man for whom 
the thought of things unseen was never far away. 
It is not surprising that those who enjoyed his 
friendship turned to him in all the affairs of life 
with a trust that knew no doubt and no limitations. 

How loyal he could be to those whom he liked 
and trusted his friendship with Mr. Chemidlin, ex- 
tending over forty years, bore wistful testimony. 
They were very unlike, these two men. Their 
paths lay far apart. Their thoughts ran in differ- 
ent channels. The sprightly temperament of the 
layman was sensitive to much for which the priest 
had little perception. And yet, they were drawn 
tog-ether in a placid companionship that grew in 

[ 16 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

gentle thoughtfulness as the years passed by. The 
letters bring out the contrast of temperament and 
also the note of simple intimacy that pervaded their 
friendship. Mr. Chemidlin never lets a chance 
pass to tease Father Caillet. Father Caillet will 
not make the trip to the Holy Land, much as he 
covets it, because Mr. Chemidlin is debarred by 
illness from sharing the pleasure of it with him. 
Mr. Chemidlin's letter to Mrs. Hill on the death of 
his friend is the cry of a desolate heart. 

It is as pastor of St. Mary's that Father Caillet 
is chiefly remembered. With St. Mary's his life 
was bound up. To it and to its flock he gave the 
best years of his life without stint, without reserve. 
When illness forced him to seek health in a less 
rigorous climate, his thoughts were with his flock 
beyond the sea. Wherever he was, at Lyons or 
Madrid or Rome, at Carthage or Tunis or in the 
Sahara, "wandering from enchantment to enchant- 
ment," his heart was with St. Mary's. He would 
not exchange his humble church and choir for the 
finest church in Paris. The church he built Avas 
dear to him, and dearer still the spiritual edifice 
that through his priestly zeal God deigned to 
build up in the hearts of the people to whom he 
ministered so faithfully. 

The celebration of the Silver Jubilee of St. 
Mary's, August 7, 1892, was the occasion of a cere- 
mony which greatly gratified all who knew Father 
Caillet. Archbishop Ireland had just returned 

[ ir ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

from Rome, bringing with him the Brief that 
raised the pastor of St. Mary's to the rank of Do- 
mestic Prelate. All the Bishops of the Province 
of St. Paul were present to do honor to their old 
friend. Archbishop Ireland preached the sermon 
and invested Father Caillet with the purple of his 
new dignity. "I do not speak to praise or flatter 
with sweet words," said the Archbishop, "I speak 
to render testimony to truth; I speak to edify. 
True merit does not seek to be known; but it is 
our duty to know it and value it. We are assem- 
bled this morning to honor a deserving priest. He 
who was pastor of St. Mary's Church twenty-five 
years ago is the pastor today. For ten years pre- 
viously he had labored in St. Paul as pastor of the 
Cathedral. During his thirty-five years of minis- 
terial life he has been the faithful, the irreproach- 
able, the self-denying, the zealous priest. How 
much good he has accomplished ! How many souls 
brought nearer to God! Is this as nothing? No 
wonder that the Sovereign Pontiff, hearing of this 
unstained and zealous ministry, desired to mark it 
as a lesson to others by sending to your pastor the 
Brief which has been sent to you, and which con- 
stitutes him prelate of the Roman Court. For 
centuries it has been the custom of the Popes to 
select as members of their Court distinguished and 
meritorious ecclesiastics throughout the world. 
When in Rome they enjoy special honors and priv- 
ileges befitting their propinquity to the person of 

[ 18 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

the Pontiff. It is my privilege to represent this 
morning Leo XIII in conferring this dignity on 
Monsignor Caillet. I rejoice in doing it; I have 
known him for many years. I have toiled at his 
side as fellow-priest; when made a Bishop I have 
made use of his wise and discreet comisel at all 
times and in all circumstances. I have found him 
to be the worthy ecclesiastic. His parishioners 
have known him well, and with me they tender him 
their felicitations. May he be with us for many 
years to come, to serve the cause of Christ and edi- 
fy his people and his fellow-priests." 

In the autumn of 1893 Father Caillet left his 
beloved St. Mary's. Only more important duties 
and responsibilities could reconcile him to the part- 
ing. But he was now Vicar- General, and in the 
course of another year he was to take charge of 
the St. Paul Seminary. It was eminently fitting 
that he should be the first Rector of the Seminary. 
This was made clear in a memorable manner at 
the dedication of the Seminary, September 4, 1895. 
The Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Satolli, a 
large number of Archbishops and Bishops, hun- 
dreds of priests, representatives of Catholic seats 
of learning, and a great gathering of men eminent 
in civic walks of life came to signalize by their 
presence the formal dedication and presentation of 
an institution that was to inaugurate a new era in 
the history of the Church in the Northwest. Mass 
had been celebrated by Archbishop Satolli under 

[ 19 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

the open sky in the presence of a vast assemblage; 
the sermon had been preached by Dr. O'Gorman, 
setting forth in glowing accents the mission of a 
seminary of the priesthood; one by one the build- 
ings on the Campus had been blessed and dedicated, 
and evening had come, the moment of the closing 
act — the founder's formal presentation of the in- 
stitution to the Diocese of St. Paul. Archbishop 
Ireland, looking into the future sketched with 
masterly sweep the service the St. Paul Seminary 
was destined to render to Church and Country; 
professors voiced the gratitude of priests and stu- 
dents to the illustrious founder of their seminary; 
the Apostolic Delegate, as representative of the 
Sovereign Pontiff, emphasized the significance of 
the great gift made "to a Church that can die from 
earth only with the race." And then Mr. Hill rose 
to speak. Brieflj^ and simply he told the reasons 
that animated him in founding the seminary. "For 
nearly thirty years," he said, "I have lived in a 
Roman Catholic household and daily have had be- 
fore me the earnest devotion, watchful care, and 
Christian example of a Roman Catholic wife, of 
whom it may be said. Blessed are the pure in heart 
for they shall see God, and on whose behalf to-night 
I desire to present and turn over to the illustrious 
Archbishop of this Diocese the seminary and its 
endowment as provided in the deeds and articles of 
trust covering the same." He had noted, too, that 
the Catholic people had little else than their faith 

[ 20 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

in God and the aid of their priests. He had also 
seen the work done by Archbishop Ireland in 
spreading throughout the country the light of re- 
ligion, and, seeing it, he felt called upon to devote 
a portion of the world's goods with which he had 
been blessed to educating for the priesthood men 
who would be able to preach down the spirit of 
unbelief, and to stand as shining lights along the 
pathway that leads to heaven. This explanation 
he prefaced with a tribute to Father Caillet which 
must be given in Mr. Hill's own words: "I cannot 
let this occasion pass without a word in regard to 
one who has most to do with the early consideration 
of and conclusions which ultimately led to the 
founding of this institution. To most of you I 
need hardly mention the name of Monsignor Louis 
Caillet, whose long life as a Catholic priest has been 
spent among you, and whose devotion to duty, 
whose broad Christian charity and unswerving zeal 
for the spiritual welfare and upright life of both 
old and young have endeared him in an unusual 
degree to the hearts of the people of St. Paul, both 
within and without the Church which he has so 
dearly loved and so faithfully served. Over forty 
years of active service have left him somewhat im- 
paired in health, but with a spirit as patient and 
devoted as when he first came among you so many 
years ago. I may say truthfully that had it not 
been for my intimate knowledge of and admiration 
for his character as a Christian pastor and a per- 

[ 21 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

sonal friend, it is very probable I would never have 
thought of assuming the responsibility for the work 
which has been dedicated today." Thus was the 
simple priest who had lived and worked so long and 
so unobtrusively suddenly summoned again out of 
the obscurity he loved by the voice of a man whose 
grandeur of vision and magnificence of achievement 
lent distinction to every word of praise he uttered. 
It was a dramatic setting for a tribute, and the 
audience — the most notable ever gathered in re- 
sponse to the invitation of the Church in the North- 
west — was quick to recognize the justice and grace- 
fulness of it all. 

As Rector of the Seminary, Father Caillet's very 
presence among the students was an exalting in- 
fluence. His gentle gravity, his priestly piety, his 
mellow wisdom silently made themselves felt in the 
lives of the young men entrusted to his paternal 
care. For three years he lived among his priests 
and students, loved and revered by all, years ap- 
parently free from heavy care, for he let no one 
know what he knew too well — ^that his days were 
rapidly coming to a close. Few things lend so 
much dignity to life as the calm bearing of a man 
who is aware that the end is near, and who quietly 
prepares to meet death with the simple trust in God 
that he has brought to all his work and tasks. So 
was it with Father Caillet. He died as he lived. He 
passed to his reward on Sunday afternoon, No- 
vember 28, 1897. Ever since he left St. Mary's he 

[ 22 ] 




SAINT MARY'S CHURCH 



FATHER CAILLET 

had gone back again and again to offer the Holy 
Sacrifice at the altar so full of sweet memories for 
him, and to speak from the familiar pulpit to the 
flock he knew and loved so well. It was his wish 
that he should be buried from St. Mary's — "it 
is my desire that I be buried from St. Mary's 
Church, the Church I loved so well and will love 
to the last." And back to the scene of his life's 
labors his mortal remains were borne by priests and 
seminarians to rest before the altar for the last time. 
There on December 1st, the last obsequies were 
performed in the midst of Bishops, priests, and 
people, who followed him to the grave with tears 
and prayers. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop 
Shanley. The sermon was preached by Arch- 
bishop Ireland, who spoke of Father Caillet, as 
"one who was above all things a priest," and closed 
a moving discourse with these farewell words: 
"Father Caillet, we bid you good-bye. Your mem- 
ory will long be with us. For years and years St. 
Mary's Church in every stone of its walls will speak 
of your devotion to duty, of your irreproachable 
life; and for years and years thousands who have 
been blessed by your ministry, who have knelt be- 
fore you in confession of their sins, who have re- 
ceived from your hands the Body of Christ, who 
have listened to words of comfort from your lips, 
who have heard of the virtues of your priestly life, 
will speak of you. For years and years in St. Paul, 
in the Northwest the name of Father Caillet will 

[23 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

be a benediction among men, and men will be better 
because he has lived among us." 

Father Caillet's will was what might have been 
expected of him. To his life-long friend Mr. Che- 
midlin he left two thousand dollars. To St. Mary's 
School he bequeathed the sum of ten thousand dol- 
lars, the modest savings of a life time. To the St. 
Paul Seminary he gave his books, and to Miss 
Annabel McQuillan, as a token of affection and 
esteem to her and of gratitude and friendship to 
her dear father and mother, he gave the picture of 
the Madonna painted by Gabriel Max and present- 
ed to him by his "kind and dear friend," Mr. James 
J. HiU. 

The story of Father Caillet is not starred with 
deeds that win renown and entitle a man to a page 
in the annals of Church or State. It is the story 
of one who at the Master's bidding left home and 
friends in the dawn of his manhood for the far-off 
frontiers of a foreign land, who, while great move- 
ments were afoot around him, and a magnificent 
race of men were organizing civilization in the 
wilderness, became a power for good among gentle 
and simple, guarding faithfully the most sacred 
interests that can be committed to human keeping, 
exemplifying the graces that adorn the priesthood, 
and cheerfully enduring the sacrifices that forty 
years of pioneer ministry necessitated. Lives that 
are unobtrusively devoted to truth and duty and 
kindness amid the tangled confusion of the world 

[ 24 ] 



FATHER CAILLET 

are usually devoid of incident that deserves to be 
blazoned abroad. Their very simplicity ofttimes 
veils their true nobility from all except discerning 
eyes. So was it with Father Caillet. So is it with 
these letters. They record no profound reflections, 
they chronicle no startling occurrences. They 
give us fleeting glimpses of what was most charm- 
ing in the man who wrote them — the affectionate 
simplicity of a priestly soul. 

Slender souvenirs of a holy priest, who was also 
the trusted friend and guide of all for whose eyes 
the following pages are intended, these little letters, 
casual memorials of years gone by, may revive fad- 
ing memories, and bring back some of the sweetness 
and fragrance of the days they recall. 



[ 25 ] 



AUGUST NICHOLAS CHEMIDLIN 




AUGUST CHEMIDLIX AND HIS WIFE 

At the time of their Marriage in 1852 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

August Nicholas Chemidlin was born December 
fifth, 1825, in Lorraine, France, in the httle village 
of Imlin, or Yhmling, in the vicinity of Nancy. 
He was the son of Nicholas Chemidlin, and the 
eldest of a family of eight sons and one daughter. 
He received his education from the Jesuits, prob- 
ably at their college at Nancy, as he always spoke 
of that city as though he had lived there — a imiver- 
sity town of great historic interest, and graced with 
some of the most exquisite examples of eighteenth 
century architecture. He described Lacordaire's 
visits to his college, and it appears that this gifted 
priest went to Nancy and founded a Dominican 
Convent when August was seventeen years old. 
He used to take long walking trips in his vacations, 
which remained an enchanting memory all his life. 
After leaving college he studied a while for the 
priesthood, but gave it up, and he and his brother 
John went to seek their fortunes in America. 

The time of their arrival there is not known, but 
in 1852 August, then twenty-six years old, went to 
White Plains, New York, where he lived for a year 
or two, giving private lessons in the Lorillard and 
Stuyvesant Fish families. This is the year of his 
marriage, which took place in Brooklyn, to Celena, 
daughter of Gabriel Franchere. 

[ 29 ] 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

Mrs. Chemidlin's father came from Montreal. 
He was a member of the expedition sent by John 
Jacob Astor to found Astoria at the mouth of the 
Columbia river, and sailed from New York in the 
ill-fated Tonquin in September, 1810. His narra- 
tive was the first history of the Astor Expeditions 
and the basis for Washington Irving's "Astoria." 
On his return journey he travelled overland 5,000 
miles in canoes and on foot. He engaged in the 
fur trade at Sault Sainte Marie, and later establish- 
ed the commercial house of Franchere and Com- 
pany in New York. The Society of St. Jean- 
Baptiste, for French-Canadians in the United 
States, was founded by him. He married the 
widow of Joseph Prince of Cincinnati, the mother 
of John S. Prince, who went to St. Paul in 1854. 

Mr. Prince built a spacious house on Eighth 
Street, which was occupied by his family in 1856. 
Mr. Franchere,* accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. 
Chemidlin, visited Saint Paul that year in the sum- 
mer, which was the height of the season for travel 
in the days of river steamboats.** When the head 
of navigation was reached what a charming picture 
the new settlement must have made, encircled by 
green hills, in a sparkling atmosphere with nothing 
to cloud it but the fragrant smoke of wood fires. 
Mr. Chemidlin decided to settle in Saint Paul, and 

*It was at the home of his stepson that Franchere died in 1863, 
and the last survivor of the Astor Expedition lies buried in Saint 
Paul, in the Prince plot in Calvary Cemetery. 

**Mr. James J. Hill arrived in July of the same year. 

[ 30 ] 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

in 1858 he bought a farm in the vicinity of Lake 
Josephine. There they hved for four years, hav- 
ing as a member of the family Theophile Chemid- 
hn, a young nephew who joined his uncle in Saint 
Paul in the spring of 1858 and continued to live 
with him for eight years. The friendship with 
Father Caillet began in 1857, at the time of his or- 
dination. Mrs. Prince knew him as a student for 
the priesthood, and the two Frenchmen may have 
met at her house. 

In the spring of 1862 the life of a farmer must 
have been discouraging, for we find Mr. Chemidlin 
giving it up to accept the appointment of toll-col- 
lector at the Suspension Bridge across the Missis- 
sippi between Saint Anthony and Minneapolis. 
The toll-house stood almost alone on Nicollet Is- 
land, above Saint Anthony Falls, then in all their 
natural beauty. The island was finely wooded and 
a paradise to the boy Theophile and his friends, 
who could hunt to their hearts' content. One of them 
recalls radiant autumn days when the drum of a 
partridge would frequently sound from the woods 
nearby, and speaks of lying in the grass on summer 
nights, listening to Mrs. Chemidlin's singing, "the 
voice of an angel" to those boyish ears. She was 
small and dark, and gay in spirit. The charm of 
the place for her young nieces was the garden of 
old-fashioned flowers, which "Uncle" rose early to 
cultivate. This idyllic life was interrupted in the 
spring of 1864, when Captain James L. Fisk or- 

[ 31 ] 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

ganized an expedition to the Montana gold fields, 
and Mr. Chemidlin made the trip with him in charge 
of the commissary. He returned in the autumn 
and resumed his position at the toll-gate, remaining 
there until 1866. Theophile left him in the spring 
of that year and went to Montana, where he settled 
at Fort Benton. The Chemidlins remained on the 
island for a time and opened an ice-cream parlor, 
the prototype of the modern tea-house, in a house 
on the hillside facing the lovely view. It is re- 
membered by its old clientele as a place of great 
charm, and it was later taken over by Charles 
Wales. In 1868 Mr. Chemidlin was in Saint Paul, 
nursing Father Caillet through a serious illness, 
and seeking a new situation, which proved to be 
at Crystal Lake, Minnesota, where he took charge 
of a general store, owned by Bruno Beaupre of 
Saint Paul. After a few years there he returned 
to Saint Anthony, where he again took up teaching. 
He had as pupils the two elder daughters of An- 
thony Kelly, and was engaged by Father Tissot 
to teach the boys' classes in the parish school of 
Saint Anthony of Padua, his wife becoming or- 
ganist in the church. In 1879 he was about to 
open a school in Saint Paul, but through Father 
Caillet he met Mr. Hill, and was pursuaded by him 
to become tutor to his children instead. At that 
time the Hill house at the corner of Ninth and 
Canada Streets was new, and Mr. Hill was just 
entering on his career as a railroad man. Mary, 

[ 32 ] 





< 

C 
< 

X 




o 

X 
X 



< 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

James and Louis were the pupils, and John Kelly 
was with them for a short time. Clara was privi- 
leged to come and go, and of greater interest to her 
than her A B C's were the deheately pencilled 
flowers, shells and butterflies with which her 
teacher used to decorate the flyleaves of the school 
books. 

There were not only lessons, but afternoon walks, 
not less instructive and wholly delightful. Who 
would not enjoy a visit to an iron foundry, a hunt 
for cornelians in a railroad cut, or the Wabasha 
Street bridge at the time of the spring floods, when, 
with luck, one might see a house floating down the 
river? But best of all were Carver's Cave, the fish 
hatchery, and the Indian Mounds, all in delightful 
proximity. The Indian Mounds as left by their 
builders, commanding a magnificent sweep of the 
winding river, was the spot for the first crocuses. 
Near the fish hatchery was a famous ground for 
frogging parties. The frogs' legs were amputated 
to be taken home for a delectable dish; and to a 
little girl that was a less desirable pastime than 
gathering wild flowers in a nearby ravine. What 
quaint bouquets Mr. Chemidlin could make, and 
how well he knew the haunts of the rarest flowers I 
These children took quite for granted his knowl- 
edge of botany, geology or ethnology; but in later 
years they realized that his love of nature and art, 
of reading and study, was his chief resource, and 
the evidence of the old world education which was 

[ 88 ] 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

his sole equipment for the life of a Minnesota 
pioneer. 

There were summers spent at Lake Elmo, at 
Lake Minnetonka after the opening of the Lafay- 
ette Hotel, and finally at "the farm," Mr. HilFs 
country place on Pleasant Lake, ten miles north 
of town, where Father Caillet also used to spend 
his summer holiday. The two friends took daily 
walks, often around the lake, when Father Caillet's 
little joke was to urge the recalcitrant to accom- 
pany them at least half way. Mr. Chemidlin was 
always a familiar figure on the lake and an expe- 
rienced fisherman. 

After the death of his wife in 1883, Mr. Chem- 
idlin went to live at the Prince's, where he spent the 
remaining eighteen years of his life. That house 
and garden was a fine example of the old homes of 
"lower town," built in a more spacious proportion 
than those of today, and ruled by a more hospitable, 
if simpler regime. Two blocks away stood Saint 
Mary's church, truly the shrine of this Catholic 
family. Here Mrs. Prince always paid the first 
of her visits ; her sister, Mrs. Shawe, was organist 
and leader of the choir, a position which remained 
in her family for fifty years; and the lamp of the 
sanctuary, lit by Charlotte Prince in 1867, was kept 
burning by one of her younger sisters until the last 
day in the old home in 1903. This house, like Mr. 
Hill's, was taken down as soon as vacated by the 
family. The railroad terminals have obliterated 

[ 34 ] 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

every vestige of that early quarter of town, which 
exists now only in our memories, with all the glam- 
our of childhood and youth. 

Mr. Chemidlin's pupils continued with him until 
1885, when they were succeeded by their younger 
sisters and brother, all of whom were his French 
scholars. The trip abroad with Father Caillet in 
1889 was his first return to Europe. He then re- 
visited his birthplace and found only a heap of 
ruins, the work of the Germans in 1870, and never 
rebuilt. 

In 1891 the Hills moved into the house on Sum- 
mit Avenue, where for the next ten years Mr. Che- 
midlin was a frequent visitor. When the lilies-of- 
the-valley bloomed, for which the Prince garden 
was famous, he never failed to appear with a bunch 
of them which he had gathered for Mrs. Hill, the 
yearly token of his devotion to her. The courtly 
manners of his youth clung to him, and his en- 
trance with a bow and the salutation "Mesdames, 
votre serviteur," was always warmly welcomed. 
His talk and banter were a delight and his eyes 
would shine with their old fire. In 1895 he again 
went to Europe with Father Caillet ; unfortunately 
we have no letters from him while on this trip. In 
the following year there was a new bond between 
his family and the Princes, when Louis Nicholas 
Chemidlin, son of his brother John, married Grace 
Prince. The last letters in this book were written 
from their house, when he visited them in 1897. 

[ 35 3 



A. N. CHEMIDLIN 

He gave French lessons to some of his friends, 
and did some work in the offices of the Great North- 
ern Railway, but in his later years poor health and 
increasing age did not admit of more than his daily 
walk and hours of reading. On July sixteenth, 
1901, at the age of seventy-five, he met his death 
under the wheels of a fire engine, while walking 
home from the Public Library. He lived only long 
enough to receive the last Sacraments, in an uncon- 
scious condition. A violent end to a gentle life I 

The writer of this memoir was in France at the 
time, and received in the same mail both the news 
of his death and a letter from him. He asked her 
to visit for him his favorite spots, to eat a certain 
dish, to watch the children play, and to think of 
him when gazing on the beauty of that pleasant 
land. In closing he wondered whether our reward 
in the next world might be to visit those places 
which we loved best on earth, and if that were true, 
how often should he be, where she was now, in 
France. 



[ 36 ] 



LETTERS 




X 






Oh 

y< 

o 





JO 

X 






5 



LETTERS 



Lyons, May 28, 1868. 

Mrs. Prince^ 
St. Paul. 
My Dear Mrs. Prince : 

You have most likely heard that I reached Lyons 
on the 13th instant, and I should have written to 
you sooner had it not been for a severe indisposition 
which has lasted about a week, and is now nearly 
over. During those days I often thought of my 
good little nurses, Charlotte and Nettie, and wish- 
ed I had them near me, or rather to be near them. 
It is a very sad thing to mar the happiness which 
your friends enjoy in seeing you, by the sight of 
sickness. But I now intend to be very careful so 
not to have another relapse. 

I need not tell you the joy of my dear mother. 
You can imagine that better than I could express, 
and also of my brother and friends, above all, of 
Mr. and Mrs. Markoe. I went to see them only 
twice before I was taken ill, but they have come 
very often to see me in spite of the very long dis- 
tance which separates their house from the one 
where I live. And then, of course, our conversations 
would be about St. Paul and our dear friends. I 

[ 89 ] 



LETTERS 

must assure you that you have a large share in that 
conversation, and I could easily bring the blush to 
your cheeks were I to repeat to you all the good we 
say of yourself, but I shall spare you. Mr. and 
Mrs. Markoe appear to be very lonesome in their 
new country, particularly Mr. Markoe, although 
he tries very hard to hide it even from himself. He 
does not speak French, and, therefore, is cut off 
from society. Mrs. Markoe would get along very 
well, as she speaks quite easily, were it not for the 
loneliness of her husband. If you ever come to 
France, I advise you to leave Mr. Prince on the 
other side, for those husbands are a lot of trouble 
to their wives — ^take Mr. Markoe for instance. 
Lorenzo and Johnnie are delighted to have me here. 
It makes it look, they say, like home. I have not 
yet seen the three others, but expect to do so very 
soon. Then I will be able to tease our sweet-sour 
girl. Had she kissed me when I left I would have 
perhaps done the same to Rawly, but she neglect- 
ed that, and I shall neglect it also. 

I very often think of you, Mrs. Link and Mrs. 
Shawe. You are such lovers of beautiful nature 
that you would enjoy even being sick where I now 
reside. The house is in a garden perfectly filled 
with flowers and fruits. I would give you the 
flowers and eat the fruits, but it is charming, and 
so much the more as there are so many recollections 
of the past connected with that most beautiful spot. 

[ 40 ] 



LETTERS 

There is our playground, where Father Tissot and 
I passed so many pleasant recreations; the trees 
upon which we used to climb to have the pleasure 
of studying our lessons in their foliage; the chapel 
where we prayed and served Mass; our good 
teacher, and his sister so kind, who, in spite of her 
eighty years can run as swiftly as any of your chil- 
dren. All these things, you will understand, have 
their charm and speak to the heart, even when that 
is sick with rheumatism, but I wish you were here 
only for a few days, as you would be at Pine Bend. 
1 wish your lonesome friend from that corner could 
be with you.* We have the most delightful 
weather, although it is very warm, and the crops 
look as fine as may be desired. The vines are 
crowded with grapes, strawberries are beautiful 
and plenty, and the same with cherries, plums, apri- 
cots, etc. 

If I feel well enough, I intend to go to Stras- 
bourg and call to see Mr. Chemidlin's niece, but as 
I do not intend to go yet, it might be well for Mr. 
Chemidlin to write to me in case he had something 
particular to say. 

I have not mentioned anything about my journey 
as you shall have learned all from letters written to 
others. I wish very much I had the use of my 
limbs so as to be able to visit. I might succeed well 
in obtaining articles for our church, but here it is 
not as in New York, where you have cars ; you must 

*Mrs. H. G. O. Morison. 

[ 41 ] 



LETTERS 

entirely trust to your legs. Pray that I may be 
able to walk without further inconvenience. 

Now, I shall expect a long letter from you with 
all particulars about the church, without forgetting 
our dear little choir. I do not forget them. Tell 
Mrs. Shawe to remember me to them all, and warn 
them that on my return I will bring them plenty 
of work to practice on. 

Now, how is my good friend, Mr. Prince? I 
suppose always busy. And Mr. Chemidlin, has 
he obtained a situation yet ? Has he, at least, some 
prospects of obtaining one? And your good 
mother, how is she also? Is Mrs. Shawe speaking 
about going to the country? 

I have heard of the change made in the school, 
and feel very sorry that you are obliged to resort 
to means of rather doubtful expediency for the edu- 
cation of your children. All I may say is, do for 
the best and live in hope of having very soon some- 
thing better, more substantial, more to be depended 
upon.* 

Please give my best regards to Mr. Prince, to 
Mrs. Link, Mrs. Shawe and her husband, to both 
your brothers and their wives, and my love to all 
the children, and a big kiss to Johnnie. Tell Mr. 
Chemidlin that I do not forget him and shall soon 
write to him. 

* Father Caillet brought the Sisters of the Visitation from 
St. Louis. 

[ 42 ] 




AIGUST CHEMIDLIN, ABOUT I860 



LETTERS 

I will now close my letter with assurance of the 
cordial affection of j^ours in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 

I have every reason to helieve that you keep 
your bureau drawers in good order. 



II 



Lyons, May 28, 1868. 



Miss Charlotte Prince^ 
East Eighth St., 
St. Paul. 

My Dear Child Charlotte: 

I received your kind and affectionate note this 
week and avail myself of this opportunity to answer 
it. I should be, indeed, very much pleased here if 
my good friends of St. Paul could be here with me 
and enjoy the beauties of the country. I should 
like, in particular, to see the children, I mean you 
all, play in the delightful garden under my win- 
dow. There is a statue of the Blessed Virgin al- 
most hidden among the flowers. How you would 
like to sing the litany or say the rosary in the honor 
of the Mother of Holy Love among those flowers 
and before that statue! 

I see by your letter that I have given you some 
anxiety concerning the affection I bear to Nettie, 
but do you believe that this excludes you from my 
love or any one among you, my dear children? 
Mistake: you have not understood what I meant 

[ 43 ] 



LETTERS 

when I sent you the little scrap about the darling. 
I well knew that none among you had all the qual- 
ities therein described; some had more, some less, 
perhaps, but everyone had some and endeavored to 
obtain all, and, therefore, you are all one darling to 
me: then you need not be jealous of Nettie, nor 
Mamie of you, for I love you all. 

I have delivered to Mrs. Markoe the present you 
sent to her. She was very much pleased with your 
idea and admired very much the execution. Lor- 
enzo and Johnnie are the only children at home for 
the present. Willie, Rawly and James are at 
Meximieux. Wednesday next, the whole family 
will move to a village nine miles from Lyons and 
about six from Meximieux. 

After a few months I shall return to St Paul. 
Pray that I may be in good health to be able to ac- 
complish my task. I have enjoyed very much 
meeting my friends here, but I may assure you 
that my joy will be double in meeting my friends 
in St. Paul. Tell Aunt Shawe that I do not forget 
her or family. I pray for them all that God may 
reward them all for her kindness. Remember me 
also to the girls of the choir, and tell them that my 
most earnest desire is to see them all together on 
my return. 

Kiss the children for me. Believe me ever yours 
affectionately in Christ, l Caillet. 

P. S. Tell my dear, wild, little Mamie to pre- 

[ 44 ] 








< 



:z 




GO 



o 






LETTERS 

pare a nice piece of music to play for me at my 
return. 

Ill 

Lyons, July 12, 1868. 

Miss Nettie Prince, 
St. Paul. 

My dear little Nettie : 

My little bird tells me that you are surprised 
not to receive a few lines from your patient; but 
I know the good heart of my little Nettie. I feel 
very sure that she will not think that I am indiffer- 
ent or forgetful, so I have let my little bird talk 
as much as it pleased and waited for the first op- 
portunity to write you a few words. 

I have now been in Lyons for nearly two 
months. During that time I have had several oc- 
casions of regretting not to have my little nurse 
by me. At times it was for my own sake, and 
again, it would have been for her own. I fancied 
how much pleasure she would have in seeing all the 
beautiful things which I did see, how she would 
enjoy herself in a French kitchen, where she could 
learn so many different ways of cooking the 
same thing. I was told the other day that pota- 
toes could be prepared in forty different ways. 
What must it be of other things? You would also 
have enjoyed very much our beautiful flowers and 

[ 45 ] 



LETTERS 

delightful fruits, for I have arrived in good season 
for all those things. 

My dear child, the time is coming near when I 
shall see you again, also your papa and mamma, 
and all your sisters, and I prize this pleasure above 
all those I have had or could have in France. I 
hope to find you endeavoring by all means to be- 
come good, pious, and to improve yourself also in 
your studies. Do your best in this latter respect, 
my child, even against your inclination, and you 
will rejoice for that effort in after life. I have 
seen Rawly, Willie and Jimmie at the seminary. 
They are all well and contented, although they re- 
gret deeply the company of their kind young 
friends of lower town. Jimmie thinks the house 
drawn by Charlotte quite imperfect because there 
is no cat on the gate post, but they blame Uncle 
for not allowing Nettie to try her hand at it. 

Good-bye, my dear child. Kiss the young ones 
for me and give my best regards to papa, mamma 
and grandma, without forgetting Miss now seven- 
teen, and yet my child. 

Yours affectionately, 

L. Caillet. 



[ 46 ] 



LETTERS 

IV 

Lyons, July So, 1868. 

Mr. J. S. Prince, 
St. Paul. 

My Dear Friend: 

I am very happy, indeed, to be able to tell you 
that my health is wonderfully improved and I am 
doing better every day. For some time after my 
arrival in France I hardly knew how it might turn. 
I felt much better than when I left St. Paul, yet I 
had so much pain that I was unable to take the 
exercise which was otherwise necessary. Now it is 
very different. I often walk in town the distance of 
three or four miles without other inconvenience 
than transient fatigue. My journey to Strasbourg 
and Luneville seems to have benefited me very 
much, and I have every reason to hope that my 
trip back to St. Paul will complete my recovery. 
I shall then be a new man in every respect, and 
with God's assistance we will be able to complete 
the good work w^hich we have begun together. I 
do not depend on human schemes but, as I have 
said, on God's assistance. Who will move the good 
will of all my friends in behalf of the work under- 
taken for His own glory and the salvation of souls. 
During my stay in France, I have not forgot- 
ten our dear St. Mary's, and although I would 
have done much better had it not been for my 

[ 47 ] 



LETTERS 

lameness, I have succeeded in obtaining articles 
which will certainly please the congregation, es- 
pecially the ladies of the Altar Society. Mrs. 
Prince will find material to make flowers, and Mrs. 
Link, pieces of silk to make sofa cushions and lit- 
tle quilts. There is no chance to get money here 
on interest, although money is abundant and loaned 
at a very low interest, but people think the United 
States too far to send money there for investment. 

Please tell my good friend, Mrs. Shawe, that I 
have not forgotten our choir, although so far I 
have not purchased one sheet of music. I intend 
to see the leader of the Cathedral's choir, who is a 
priest, and ask him his advice before buying any- 
thing. 

Last week I went to Meximieux, where, to my 
great astonishment, I met Father Genis. I am 
afraid he has made a great mistake in listening to 
the entreaties of his parents, if he has the desire of 
returning to St. Paul, for they will move every- 
thing to keep him here. 

The day before yesterday, Mr. and Mrs. Mar- 
koe came to Lyons and we spent some pleasant 
hours together. They seem better pleased in 
IMontluel than they were in Lyons, and if they are 
as well contented next winter, there is some 
probability of their spending several years in 
France. They send their love to you, to Mrs. 
Prince, Mrs. Shawe, Mrs. Link and the children. 

[ 48 ] 




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y. 

A 



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i2 

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§ 



LETTERS 

This afternoon I forward my boxes to Havre. 
Thus you see I am actually making preparations 
for my return. Will you be so kind to think of 
that free ticket of which you spoke to me in St. 
Paul, and for which I will be most obliged to you? 

I have received, some days ago, Mrs. Prince's let- 
ter, and also Charlotte's, for which please give 
them my best thanks. Mrs. Prince and Charlotte 
have given many interesting details which pleased 
me very much. As I am at the last days of my 
visit and have nmch visiting to do, I may not be 
able to send her an answer, which I would like very 
much to do. 

I have heard almost nothing about our church 
matters and feel some anxiety about them. The 
Bishop has MTitten to me but said very little 
about that; however, I shall soon be in the run of 
everything. I hope the strawberry festival has 
proved a success. 

We have here an intense heat — almost impos- 
sible to sleep. We wake up as though we were 
in a bath or in the river; in fact, baths are of very 
little consequence when one is streaming the 
whole day and the whole night. The wheat crop 
has been very good; we need rain for the grape- 
vine; otherwise it will spoil. 

I am very thankful for the paper, as everything 
that concerns St. Paul is of interest to me. 

My kindest regards to Mrs. Prince, Mrs. Link, 

[ 49 ] 



LETTERS 

Mrs. Shawe and to all the children, and a kiss to 
Johnnie and another, if you like, to my friend Mr. 
Chemidlin. Remember me to the neighbors, and 
believe me yours very truly and affectionately in 
Christ, 

L. Caillet. 

V 

St. Paul, 7th Nov., 1870. 

Miss Fanny Prince^ 

Convent or the Visitation^ 
Saint Louis. 

My dear little Fanny: 

How happily disappointed I was the other day 
when I received your good little letter. I dared 
not to hope for such good fortune, also I read it 
with the utmost pleasure. It was so good of you, 
dear Fannv, to write to me first before even I 
wrote that, if I could, I would love you still more 
for it. 

I am glad to learn that you are not as lonesome 
as I was afraid you would be. When you feel 
low spirited turn your mind to God, tell Him your 
little troubles, and He M'ill console you. 

Among your companions, always seek the best, 
the most pious, so that you may be benefited by 
their good example. But especially cling to 
Mamie, and always consider her the best among 
your friends: support each other, have no secrets 

[ 50] 



LETTERS 

from one another and you will be as happy as you 
can be away from your happiest, sweetest home. 

Study as diligently as you can, improve every 
opportunity, and I hope that it will not always be 
necessary to banish you away from your dear par- 
ents and friends for the sake of education. 

Of course you know all about the fair, and how 
faithfully dear Charlotte and Nettie have worked 
for the little orphans: may our good God reward 
them by many blessings. 

Goodbye, my dear child. Believe me yours very 
affectionately in the hearts of Jesus and Mary, 

L. Caillet. 

VI 

St. Paul, 17th Jan., 1877. 

Miss Nettie Prince, 

Convent of the Visitation^ 
St. Louis. 

My dear child Nettie: 

It seems so long since you left us that I feel I 
must write. Yesterday I was at the house and 
learned that you had written and were enjoying 
your visit very much. It would be superfluous 
for me to say how gratified I am to see the object 
of your journey so successfully attained. Make 
the most of it, dear Nettie, and although we miss 
you very much here, no one would be so selfish as 

[ 51 ] 



LETTERS 

to deprive you on his account of even one hour of 
the enjoyment you have so painfully earned. 

Father and mother, and also grandma and all 
are very well, and, although all is very quiet at 
home, every one thinks of you and looks with a 
longing desire for your return. 

I wish your mother were with you, for I believe 
that it would be good for her. She does not go out 
at all and remains too much with her own thoughts. 

Our sewing circle is enlarging. Yesterday, we 
had about a dozen of persons, comprising quite a 
number of young ladies. I am very glad to see 
them take an interest and pleasure in doing that 
good work. The choir goes on as usual, but 
your absence is very much felt. I wish you could 
find some nice easy masses with plenty of choruses 
in them, so that we may do away with many of 
our solos. I do not say with all, but with many, 
as it would be more according to the spirit of church 
music. 

How is dear little Em? Does she enjoy herself 
also? I hope she does and helps to make things 
lively all around. And yourself — how is it about 
yourself? Are all those cobwebs swept out of 
your mind? Write me a little letter and tell me 
how it is. 

Now I see that I ought to close this letter as I 
am coming to the end of the paper. Give my 
kindest regards to Sister Evangelista and to 

[ 52 ] 



LETTERS 

Mother and the other sisters, and last but not 
least, to our little Em. 

Yours very affectionately in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 

VII 

St. Paul, 14th March, 1883. 

Mrs. M. R. Morgan, 
San Francisco. 

My Dear Child in Christ: 

I received your kind note of the 28th February, 
a few days after my return from New Mexico. I 
had secretly entertained the hope of being able to 
offer you a surprise, but Father Tissot did not feel 
willing to go so far, and as I could not leave him 
I had to make the sacrifice of my visit, at least for 
the present. Father Tissot is much improved from 
his journey, but I fear that he will go to work and 
lose more than he has gained. Today, Mrs. Gordon 
was buried; last Sunday, her mother, Mrs. Bor- 
up; the Sunday before, General Simpson. Since 
then they have received the news of the death of 
Captain Hartley. So you may see how much that 
family is afflicted ! I have received this week a let- 
ter from Mrs. McQuillan, dated from Naples. They 
were all well and intended to go to Rome, where 
they wall spend the Holy Week. By this time 
you have seen the Beaupres. If they are yet in 

[ 53 ] 



LETTERS 

Francisco, please remember me kindly to them 
when you see them. 

Father Keane, my assistant, does admirably well, 
and I wish I could say the same of the choir, but 
I cannot, for it is about entirely demoralized, and 
if something is not done very soon, we will have 
none at all. Today I received a letter from the 
General, which interested me very deeply. Please 
tell him that I shall answer very soon, and also give 
him my kindest regards, also to Wilfred and Mabel. 
You may be sure that my visit is only postponed 
and that I will take the very first opportunity to 
cross over to California. You are wrong when 
you make excuses for the manner your first letter 
was written. Let me assure you that I never was 
better pleased with a letter than I was with that 
one. It was so much yourself that I could hear 
you talk, and if you wish to please me you will 
write many like that one. 

Now, I remain your sincere friend in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 



[ 54 ] 




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LETTERS 



VIII 

Havre, 14th Oct., 1889. 

Mrs. J. J. HiLL^ 

Ninth and Canada Sts., 
St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Hiijl: 

I know that both you and Mr. Hill will be 
pleased to know that we are safely landed in 
Havre, and particularly that Mr. Chemidlin has 
very much improved in bodily health and also in 
disposition. It is true he was not seasick ; this may 
account for the latter in a measure. I have been 
able to limit him to about five cigars a day; this 
is still too much, and I told him this morning that 
he would have to do better. True, we have five 
meals a day, for that barbarian called a lunch a 
meal. I suppose to have his smoke. Well, enough 
of backbiting, although he is writing at the same 
table and, I am sure, not sparing me. 

We had the finest trip on the ocean that could 
be desired, and not a particle of seasickness, as the 
five meals a day and the same number of smokes 
will tell. We had some very nice company, 
but not much fun, owing to too many being sick. 
There is one drawback about this fast traveling — 
it is that as soon as you begin to know people and 
to enjoy their society it is time to part. However, 

[ 55 ] 



LETTERS 

we did not come for this kind of pleasure; we left 
it at home and hope to find it there when we return. 

We called at the Albemarle when in New York, 
but Mr. Hill had left and we had not the pleasure 
of saying good-bye once more. Today after break- 
fast we intend to ride around and see Havre — ^we 
shall also take a walk in the quaint, narrow streets 
of the old portion of the city and will, no doubt, 
see many things of interest. Tomorrow morning 
we shall leave for Paris and take in the big show. 
My nephew will meet us there, probably next Sun- 
day, so as to spend a week with us in Paris. Then 
on to Lyons, and Mr. Chemidlin to Lorraine. 
After a couple weeks we will meet again and then 
go South. 

I hope and pray that you may all be well dur- 
ing the coming winter. Please remember us most 
kindly to Mr. Hill and the children, also to Mr. 
and Mrs. Sanjuel Hill, without forgetting the baby, 
as far as she can be impressed. It was so kind of 
Mr. and Mrs. S. Hill to come to see me before I 
left. 

With best wishes for your welfare, I remain very 
respectfully yours, 

L. Caillet. 



[ 56 ] 



LETTERS 



IX 

Paris, 20th Oct., 1889. 



Dear Mrs. Hiix: 



While Uncle and my nephew are dissipating to- 
day — Sunday — at the Exposition, I improve the 
time to write a few letters. You will be pleased to 
hear of the wonderful improvement in Mr. Chemid- 
lin's condition ; he has lost all that sallow color, has 
a splendid appetite, and as for walking, he is a per- 
fect machine and hardly ever complains of being 
tired. The only question with me is whether, when 
the excitement is over, there will be no reaction. I 
watch him, although I do not say anything, and 
when I want him to rest I tell him that I am tired. 
Nothing pleases him better than to think that I 
tire sooner than he does, and really, sometimes I do. 

We have visited the Exposition perhaps ten 
times already and yet have seen so little ! Not, 
indeed, for lack of objects to be seen, but on ac- 
count of their too great number. What has struck 
us most with wonderment has been the "Galerie 
des Machines." O, how much I would like to have 
Mr. Hill with us, for he would be so much better 
able to appreciate all that is exhibited there, par- 
ticularly in the way of railroad machinery, etc. 
The next thing was the Eiffel Tower, which is not 
only a feat of iron architecture, but also a work of 
art in its form and structure. You cannot have 

[ 57 ] 



LETTERS 

any idea of its elegance of form and beauty of pro- 
portion unless you are close to it — all the cuts we 
have do it no justice. The next portion which in- 
terests me most is the Military Department. There 
one can see everything from the most formidable 
engines of modern warfare to the minutest details 
for the maintenance of our army in campaign. I 
have not yet visited the galleries of painting and 
sculpture, nor the various industrial departments, 
which I intend to visit this week. 

My nephew brought me a letter from Mrs. Good- 
rich. She is living in Paris, at Passy, and I have 
appointed next Tuesday to go to see her. I called 
to see Tiny Kelly ; if you have ever seen a girl glad 
to see somebodv, vou should have seen her. I am 
going there tomorrow afternoon, expect to meet 
Miss Mealey, and after will write to the family. 

I have found it very difficult to get settled in 
Paris and have concluded to go to the Pension 
where we had stopped before. They give us break- 
fast at 9 o'clock, dinner at 7. Between those hours 
we have all the time we want to see and get tired 
seeing. Of course, we make a station of some 
restaurant in the middle of the day. One thing 
has struck me most agreeably in connection with 
the Exposition: that is the conveniences and com- 
forts that have been provided for sightseers. 
Whether it rains or shines, vou have immense awn- 
ings to shelter you. Chairs and benches are pro- 

[ 58 ] 



LETTERS 

vided all over to rest when tired. Four orchestras 
discourse music while vou take meals or refresh- 
merits near the Palais de 1' Industrie, and every- 
thing necessary seems to have been foreseen. 

Please give our kindest regards to Mr. Hill and 
also to the children and to Mr. Samuel Hill and 
Mary, and believe me, 

Yours very sincerely, 

L. Caillet. 



Top of Eiffel Tower, 
Oct. 21, 1889. 

Miss Claea Hill^ 
St Paul. 

My dear Clara: 

When I say "Top of Eiffel Tower" it is to keep 
my word to you to write from that eminence. But 
it was impossible — too crowded. Think a little, 
nearly five million people have made themselves 
proud by going there; but Father Caillet did not. 
We started together; at the first story he was yel- 
low; at the second he had turned green, and then 
he would go no further up, I suppose thinking that 
his congregation had still further need of his serv- 
ices. Well, the sky being perfectly clear, the sight 
was beyond expression — 175 miles all around. 
Half a dozen cities in view. And such a pano- 

[ 59 ] 



LETTERS 

rama! Not the least striking was the mass of hu- 
manity sliding, not walking, below, looking like 
puppets; the horses, the size of dogs. 

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to see the crowd — 
350,000 within the grounds. You remember Third 
Street when Cleveland came to St. Paul. Imagine, 
then, what it is here. A most good humored 
crowd, speaking all languages, even French. No 
coarseness anywhere, no swearing (I have heard 
but one oath since in Paris ) , and not one drunken 
man. And to see the amount of wine thev drink 
at their meals, men and women alike! As for 
whiskey, I think there is none in Paris. No strong 
liquors are drunk except a thimbleful of brandy 
in coffee after dinner. That is what we do. The 
pictures give you no idea of what the Exposition 
is. Oh! I wish I were rich! What beautiful ex- 
pensive objects I would bring you. This morning 
I saw a pot of china wild-flowers, single poppies, 
ragged sailors, oats, grasses, more delicate than 
any artificial flowers 1 ever saw. I wanted to ask 
the price but when I saw the next, a modest little 
bouquet, marked "bought by the Bey of Tunis,'* I 
thought that if a sovereign could afford to buy 
only a little posy, I ought not to buy one costing 
a hundred times more. I had intended it for you. 
Thank me. 

We saw America's exhibits. They are no credit 
to the U, S. The smallest southern republic 

[ 60 ] 




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LETTERS 

makes a much better show. Tiffany and Edison 
have saved the country's reputation. Tiffany had 
the highest award, one grand prize, besides four 
gold medals. As for Edison, he has received the 
cross of Commander of the Legion of Honor, the 
highest given to foreigners. He and Eiffel are 
the two great men of the Exposition. 

Oh, dear! I wish you were here. I can't de- 
scribe what I see. Truly if Adam and Eve had had 
such a beautiful place to live in, they would have 
thought twice before eating the apple. 

I suppose you wish to know how my health is, 
since you think I came for my health. Well, my 
yellow skin is gone, it has turned into healthful 
pink; I eat three heavy meals a day, and want 
more. On the steamer I ate four meals, and 
Father Caillet five. I did not miss one during the 
whole passage, which was splendid. Consequent- 
ly, I am growing fat, and Father Caillet, fatter. 
He looks now like *'un petit abbe" of old. 

Tonight we go to hear Faust at the Grand Op- 
era. Don't you wish you were here! 

Give my respects and love to all, not forgetting 
Mr. and Mrs. Sam. 

Your affectionate old slave, 

A. Chemidlin, 



[ 61 ] 



LETTERS 



XI 



Lyons, 29th Oct., 1889, 

Miss Elsie Shawe, 

East Ninth Street, 
Opposite St. Mary^s Church — St. Paul. 

Dear Elsie; 

I have received both your letters and also that 
of Mary. I cannot tell you how pleased I was in 
reading them as they brought me back to home. It 
does one so much good to feel that he is not forgot- 
ten bv those he has left behind, and whose friend- 
ship he prizes so dearly. Yes, Elsie, you can nev- 
er realize how much I think of you, how I appre- 
ciate you for your untiring devotedness to all the 
work I am interested in. Such a friend as you 
are to me, all the sights and pleasure in the world 
could never make me forget. I have visited the 
grandest Exposition. Its proportions surpass all 
I could imagine of the kind. One scarcely needs 
to travel after being there. For not only do you 
find all the modern works of art, all that man's 
genius has produced in the way of machinery, all 
that exists in the way of luxury and comfort, etc., 
but also all the various specimens of the human 
race. It is another Pentecost, only the Holy Spirit 
is not there, but another! No, not even in the 
churches we have visited! One would almost 
think that the spirit of God has deserted them, 

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LETTERS 

there is such coldness and lack of devotion in the 
services. We were one Sunday in the Madeleine 
and the other in the Trinity, and heard not a word 
from the pulpit. Why? I do not know. It 
seemed as though the priests were afraid to speak 
or even to offer the Divine Mysteries, and that the 
briefest way was the best. We attended a solemn 
High Mass which took 45 minutes, and a low Mass 
which took 20. Oh, give me St. Paul, and in St. 
Paul St. Mary's, and even if I am an interested 
party, I will say that I would not exchange our 
humble church and our choir for the grandest 
church in Paris. 

Uncle has gone to Lorraine, and my nephew and 
I have come down to Lyons. It is raining, and I 
am not sorry, for it keeps me in and enables me to 
write to you. Then again, it rests me as we have 
been on our feet enough to tire any kind of feet. 
My nephew's wife is very lovely, and so kind to 
me. The children are made of quicksilver and gun- 
powder, but are the most interesting and preco- 
cious children I have met with. They, of course, 
think everything of their Uncle, too much in fact, 
as they have already worn out my face with kisses. 

When Mr. Chemidlin comes from his visit we 
shall, after a few days spent with him in Lyons, 
proceed south, and on with the second part of our 
journey, which is Spain. Uncle asked me to re- 

[ 63 ] 



LETTERS 

member him to yourself and family and promised 
to write. 

Give my love to all at home; remember me to 
Mr. McLachlan ; tell Fr. Conry that I have f omid 
his letter in Lyons, and will write to him, and give 
my kindest regards to all the members of St. 
Mary's choir. Tell Mrs. Smith that I do not for- 
get her, and that my nephew's wife is delighted 
with the nice little cup I brought from your house, 
and wishes me to thank you for her. She finds it 
to be a little wonder. To your dear self, you know 
that I remain your very affectionate in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 



XII 



Grand Hotel de Paris, 

Madrid, 
24th November, 1889. 

Mrs. James J. Hill, 
St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Hill: 

We are now in Madrid after a very pleasant 
journey; and, not^vithstanding tliat Mr. Chemidlin 
still complains of cold, I am of the opinion that it 
is with him rather a personal matter and not the 
fault of the country so much. To say that I am 
well would not be correct, for I am better than 

[ 64 ] 



LETTERS 

well and able to enjoy everj^thing, even the dis- 
comforts unavoidable in a journey of this kind. 

We enjoyed our stay at Lourdes exceedingly. 
We had very fine weather and a most agreeable 
ramble in the mountains. But above all, there is 
something so soothing and refreshing in the mem- 
ory of the events which took place there, and 
which is kept green by the sight of the faith and 
devotion which are displayed constantly, that one 
cannot help being influenced thereby. 

Madrid is at first somewhat disappointing, hav- 
ing a common appearance; but after a closer in- 
spection, one likes it better. Its parks and many 
of the new residences are perfectly beautiful. As 
to its galleries of paintings, they surpass any oth- 
er collection in the w^orld for the profusion of its 
gems of the old and best masters. Of course, we 
are not able to criticize and to judge, and I am 
glad we are not, for we might well spend all our 
time in the Royal Museum and then we would be 
only beginning. 

Tomorrow we go to the Escurial, about thirty 
miles from here, and will return in the evening. We 
intend to leave on Friday for south Spain, and, 
after visiting some of the most interesting points, 
will sail for Algiers. 

We frequently speak of Mr. Hill, yourself and 
the children, and wish he could see the same things 
we see, as he would be able to enjoy them even 

[ 65 ] 



LETTERS 

more than we do, and would be able to appreciate 
them so much better. 

Mrs. Hill, I am very glad to have undertaken 
and made this tour, on account of the physical ben- 
efit which I have every reason to expect from it, 
and also for making me realize how much I think 
of the friends I have left in St. Paul, and how hard 
it would be to induce me to leave them again, even 
with the most favorable expectations. 
I remain very sincerely yours, 

L. Caillet. 

XIII 

Alhambra, Nov. SO, 1889. 

Miss Clara Hill^ 
St. Paul. 

Cara Mia: 

Truly the land of enchantment. Imagine a pal- 
ace of the Arabian Nights at the top of a low 
mountain, itself at the foot of the snow-covered 
Sierra Nevada, the highest part of it twenty miles 
off, but which seems only two miles. On the 
north side, far below, and joined to the Alhambra 
by an avenue surpassing any at Versailles, white, 
glittering Grenada with its numerous old minarets 
and towers, and beyond, an immense plain sur- 
rounded by the Sierra Elvira, dotted all over with 
white farm houses; with Santa Fe, the headquar- 

[ 66 ] 



LETTERS 

ters of Ferdinand and Isabella during the siege of 
Grenada, in full view. Add to that, such an at- 
mosphere as Corot delighted to paint. No wonder 
the Moors shed tears of blood when they had to 
leave this earthly paradise, and that so many of 
them preferred becoming Christians rather than 
return to Africa. No one can describe the Alham- 
bra, and, of course, I won't attempt it. We had 
our beautiful countenances taken, leaning against 
the Court of Justice and looking at the fountain 
of lions, with the Court of the Abencerages on our 
left. For the last two days we have been going 
from enchantment to enchantment until I am 
bursting, and this rigmarole is the consequence. 
But Father Caillet has not his fill yet, and he has 
gone for a last walk whilst I am discharging my 
enthusiasm at you. His company is very pleasant, 
of course, but how many times within the last two 
days I have wished to have some one of you to 
rave with me. He is so quiet in his enjoyment 
that I am disgusted with him. It is selfish to en- 
joy things within yourself, without imparting 
your delight to others. When you make your 
"grand tour" (may I be with you then) this will be 
of all places the one to visit in May. I am told 
this is the worst time to visit here, and yet now 
pomegranates, figs, oranges, olives, hang on the 
trees. Think a little. Hedges of cacti and aloes 
ten feet high. One of myrtle nine feet thick and 

[ 67 ] 



LETTERS 

five feet high, trimmed smooth as a wall. I do not 
know which to admire most, the work of man or the 
work of nature. Now, I am going to tell you 
something which must not be repeated, and which 
you, not being yet a full grown woman, won't re- 
peat. Father Caillet and I had a gypsy dance for 
our special benefit. There are between four and 
five thousand Gitanos at Grenada, living mainly 
m the inside of a mountain in very clean grottoes. 
The Gitanos are far prettier than the Spanish 
girls, and the way they threw kisses at Father 
Caillet and told him in their beautiful Spanish 
that he was beautiful, made me jealous. But the 
best of all were Father Caillet's blushes. But my 
punishment came. Until then, I had been boss in 
our wanderings. He has since then taken the 
chief command. 

Our trip in Spain was much colder than I ex- 
pected. It is a dreary country, to say the least. 
Madrid resembles all other capitals, but her gal- 
lery of paintings is the first in the world. There is 
hardly one that is not a masterpiece. Would not 
your father revel in that gallery! Never any- 
where have I seen such beautiful children as in 
Madrid. We were on the Prado on Sunday af- 
ternoon and it was a delight to watch them. I tell 
you, Walter would just hold his own amongst 
them, and that is all. As for the young girls, well, 
all I have to say is that Charlotte would look slim 

[ 68 ] 




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LETTERS 

alongside of them. The fact is, I have hardly seen 
a beautiful woman since I left America, except at 
Nimes in the south of France, where almost every 
woman you meet could sit for a model to an artist. 

The Escurial! Brrrr — only to think of it freezes 
me to the bones. A tomb of granite. A city 
by itself, with more than thirty courts, built like a 
gridiron. And the church — the noblest pile I ever 
saw, but not a statue, not an ornament; a stupen- 
dous cross cut in the rock. It crushed you, and you 
leave it with your heart in your boots. And as 
you get out, what do you see far below? A valley 
covered with millions of white granite boulders, 
with here and there black looking olive trees, which 
at that distance look like hooded monks contem- 
plating death. We were glad to leave and we re- 
turned to Madrid after dark. In the compartment 
with us, in front of Father Caillet, was the Bishop 
of Toledo. And what do you tliink Father Cail- 
let did? He snored during the two hours it took 
us to return (and, helas! I can tell you he can 
snore as no man can ) , and not only snored but kept 
his mouth open to its fullest extent. And that in 
front of a Bishop! That man has no human re- 
spect. 

From Madrid we went to Cordova, the most 
Moorish city in Spain. There is hardly any street 
where two carriages can cross each other, so the 
streets are marked in such a way that carriages go 

[ 69] 



LETTERS 

only in one direction. True, carriages are very 
scarce — all donkeys. The mosque is a magnificent 
building. Think only, over one thousand col- 
umns, all marble, brought from all parts of the 
world. It is a forest. 

Cadiz, Dec. 5th. 

Waiting for the boat to take us to Tangiers. 

It was too bad. The cathedral was all scaf- 
folded. An earthquake sometime ago shook it 
very badly. So all we could see in the capital of 
Andalusia was the Alcazar, which is not equal to 
the Alhambra, by a long shot, as James would say. 
So we hurried to Cadiz as fast as possible, follow- 
ing the valley of the beautiful Guadalquiver. The 
cleanest, neatest, prettiest city in Spain, and that 
is all. 

December (lost the date), Tangiers. 

The approach very picturesque, rising on both 
sides of a gully. The houses as white as snow. But 
the dirty, nasty, stinking Moors — Pouah! We 
left two days ago and I have yet the stench in my 
nostrils. The widest streets are just about wide 
enough for two donkeys to pass each other, you, 
and another one. I was going along when came 
towards me a truly splendid Jewess (the only good 
looking people here), straight as an arrow, grand 
figure, looking proudly straight before her; as she 
passed I turned to see her as long as possible. 
Well, I turned and came literally face to face 

[ 70] 



LETTERS 

with a camel. The camel was not the most aston- 
ished of the two, but my nose was the worst of the 
three. 

The JNToorish women are horrible to look at — 
each a large bundle of clothes. They don't always 
hide their faces, but their legs are bare to the 
knees; such clubs! And their feet!! "Horribilis, 
ingens." As for the men, they are the worst gang 
of ruffians I ever saw. To think of the builders 
of the Alhambra and of the Alcazar, and their de- 
cendants! Allah on Allah, Mohammed re90ul 
Allah. 

December 10th, Oibraltar. 

Very neat city. It reminds one of a French 
provincial city. Nothing to see but guns and 
forts, forts and guns. But what beautiful walks 
up and down that rock! Imagine a solid stone, 
two miles long, not a quarter of a mile wide and 
rising to 1400 feet. Oh! the flowers in the parks. 
It is gorgeous. But the best is, that Fall and 
Spring flowers are mixed together. The rock it- 
self is clothed with the most beautiful wild-flow^ers, 
amongst which the scarlet geranium hanging in 
festoons, the narcissus, the sweet alyssum and 
many others that I never saw. 

Well! We leave tomorrow for Malaga, and 
then Melilla in Morocco, then Oran, Algiers, Tun- 
is, Malta and Cairo. We are going to hurry so as 

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LETTERS 

to be at Bethlehem for midnight Mass at Christ- 
mas. But I am afraid we won't make it. 

The weather on the Mediterranean now is the 
same as it is in Minnesota in June. Not too 
warm. But have I not been cold, though, since I 
left New York! In France, until I got south of 
Lyons I did nothing but shiver. In the south of 
France, it was just pleasant, and at Lourdes, at the 
foot of the Pyrenees, the gorges of the mountain 
were full of wild-flowers. But when once in Spain, 
I shivered worse than ever. But now I am in 
Paradise, and Father Caillet is in a sweat all the 
time, so he is growing thin at last. As for me, you 
would hardly know me, if it was not for my nose. 
What happiness to have good health! Almost all 
the sour lines are gone out of my face. We have 
had a great deal of enjoyment and expect 
much more. And yet, sometimes in the long 
evenings I catch myself longing for St. Paul, 
which shows that one cannot be entirely happy. 

And now, my dear conscience, I hope to find a 
good, long letter from you at Algiers where we ex- 
pect to find lots of them. Since we left Madrid 
we have heard nothing from home. I hope my 
letter from Paris did not bother vou too much to 
read. Give my love to all. 

Yours with affection, 

A. Chemidlin. 



[ 72 ] 



LETTERS 



XIV 



Grand Hotel de Pari$, 
Cadiz, 
5th Dec, 1889. 

Mrs. J. J. Hill, 
St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Hill: 

We will not be able to say a great deal about 
Spain, our stays in the various places having been 
shortened by the severity of the weather. Another 
drawback is the ignorance of the language, which 
prevents one from being with the people and see- 
ing more of their inner life. On the whole, I think 
that there is much to like about the Spaniards, but 
that they are very poorly governed; and particu- 
larly that the poor classes are not helped to help 
themselves. There is much too much begging, but 
even in doing it the Spaniard preserves some of 
his self-respect. I was very sorry to hear of the 
accident to James, but am glad to judge that there 
is nothing serious for the future, as he continues 
with his studies. Please remember me to both him 
and Louis. Mr. Chemidlin is much improved and 
I trust that he will continue to do well. I be- 
lieve that the trip will not only have contributed 
to his happiness but will add to his life and improve 
his comfort. Tomorrow we will take the steamer 
for Tangiers, Algiers and Tunis. At that point, 
the journey to Egypt and the Holy Land will be 

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LETTERS 

decided, one way or the other. Much will depend 
on Mr. Chemidlin's condition of health, and what 
we may learn about advantages and disadvantages 
of the trip. For myself, I would rather linger in 
Italy and the south of France than rush among the 
Arabs and wade through the sands of Africa, and 
rest riding on mules and asses. But Uncle loves 
the prospect. I have only to hope for him that it 
is not distance that lends enchantment. On the 
whole, I am very glad to have visited Spain even 
imperfectly and would not have given up the trip 
notwithstanding its drawbacks, had I known them 
beforehand. This part is now over and I am glad 
of it because it is that less time that I shall remain 
away from my friends; for I have often felt lone- 
some after them, and it sometimes takes the recall- 
ing of the motives which moved me on to this trip 
not to make me feel an idler, and even with all 
this I do feel one anyway. 

I remain very sincerely yours in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 
With mille biens choses on the part of Uncle. 



[ 74 ] 



LETTERS 



XV 



Tangier, Morocco, 
7th Dee., 1889. 

Miss Shawe, 
St. Paul. 

My Dear Children: 

This letter, will, I hope, reach you by Xmas, and 
bear to you my most cordial greetings. Yes, I 
wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New 
Year. First of all to your dear Mother; let me 
hope and pray that she may be able to so arrange 
matters that she may enjoy peace with more com- 
fort. If what I wish does happen, I know that 
you will all be first sharers of those earthly favors. 

We are here in Tangier and do hope to leave it 
tomorrow after Mass. I can only repeat what I 
have said to Fr. Conry about this place. When 
you see it from the bay it presents a very pleasing 
appearance; its white houses topped with nice flat 
roofs, all rising one above the other, seem to invite 
you to enter its walls; but all this is fraud and de- 
ception; no sooner you enter its streets so-called 
than you feel most sadly disappointed. The filth 
of the street, or rather lane, is only surpassed by 
that of the human beings who are endeavoring to 
fight their way through, with scores of donkeys 
loaded with stones, wood, vegetables, water, etc., 
etc. Then the smell, oh, what a stench! Some- 

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LETTERS 

thing truly indescribable and never to be forgotten. 
What is more strange is that every one I have seen 
who has been there has been as anxious to leave as 
we are, and yet would not have missed it for the 
disagreeableness. Neither would we! We have 
seen what we shall meet nowhere upon our journey, 
— the true Oriental life, not as we have it in ro- 
mances but in reality; and in the midst of all this, 
you meet the real patriarchal life we read of in the 
Bible. I do not mean in religion, but in customs, 
looks, habits, etc. Yesterday and today we loiter- 
ed through the streets and market places, losing 
our way through the maze of lanes, but discovering 
something new every time. It was really more in- 
teresting than picture galleries, and I suppose 
more bearable because we are getting a little used 
to the drawbacks I have spoken of. 

I received Alice's letter, and I had answered a 
few days before a telegram which her letter ex- 
plained. I did not write but will before the awful 
event takes place. This letter is for you all, and 
I beg of you to excuse its incoherence, as I am 
writing it under difficulty, the room being occupied 
by people who distract me with their talk. 

Tomorrow we leave for Gibraltar, where we will 
wait for the steamer that is to take us to Oran, 
where we will take the cars for Algiers. We ex- 
pect to be there for tomorrow week and to remain 
for sometime to rest if the weather is pleasant. 

[ 76 ] 



LETTERS 

Uncle sends mille choses, and is very well, although 
lonesome today. He wants ease and sunshine, also 
the beauties of nature — and such are not met every- 
where nor every day on a journey like this. As 
for me, I find what I sought, viz., perfect rest from 
my usual work, and although I often long for it 
and my home and friends, I am perfectly satisfied 
to remain till the time is over. 

Please give my best greetings for a Merry Xmas 
to Mr. McLachlan and all the members of the 
choir, and tell Mr. Nilson how thankful I am that 
he wdll find it convenient to remain an active mem- 
ber of St. Mary's choir. 

Mary, I was very glad to receive your letter but 
missed the photographs that were not within. 
Uncle, unfortunately, did not buy the kodak he in- 
tended to buy, so he will have no pictures. 

Once more, a Merry Xmas and a Happy New 
Year! 

Your friend and pastor, 

L. Caillet. 



[ 77 ] 



LETTERS 

XVI 

Algiers, December 18, 1889. 

Mrs. James Makkoe, 
St. Paul. 

MyDeakMary: 

Here we are amongst Moors, Arabs, Jews, 
Maltese, Turks, Spaniards and what not, all 
screaming at the top of their voices, dressed in all 
possible and impossible garments, fez, turbans of 
all shapes and colors, stove-pipe hats, derbies, 
straw-hats, and no hats, blankets, winding sheets, 
rags and tags, swallow-tails and caftans, European 
pants fitting close to the legs, Turkish pants, each 
holding three bushels, and no pants. The women 
covering their faces up to the eyes, with their legs 
bare to the knees, and such monstrous legs ! On their 
feet, sandals, baboushes, moccasins, and nothing. 
And the pandemonium of languages! But if the 
sight of the people gives you the nightmare, the 
country is simply marvelous. Everything is green 
as in Minnesota in July. Potatoes and all vege- 
tables are being planted, are in bloom, are ripe. 
And the flowers! Oh, the flowers!! Would not 
your mother revel amongst them. Morning-glor- 
ies, four o'clocks, the dear little double daisies, 
scarlet geraniums, jonquils, narcissus, and hun- 
dreds of others growing wild. And in the gardens, 
such gorgeous sights! Rose trees as large as my 

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LETTERS 

legs, twenty feet high and covered with blooms. 
And yet they tell me that this is winter — that we 
should have come in February and March. 

Biskra, Sahara Desert, December 21, 1889. 

Just as I was writing the above, Mr. Moryo, my 
sister-in-law's cousin, came in for us and we have 
been on the go ever since. Algiers is a very beau- 
tiful city and extremely interesting. Well, we 
had to leave it and take to the Kabylia mountains, 
a ride of two days in the cars, the train running 
nearly up to the snow line. First, tropical plants, 
then olive trees only, then cedars, then, on reaching 
the plateau, nothing but bare fields, and rocks with- 
out a flower. It is a most wonderful country. The 
Kabyles are quite different from the Arabs. The 
women do not cover their faces as the Moors do. 
Their clothing is merely a long piece of woolen 
cloth with a hole in the middle for the head and 
gathered under their arms; the rest falls in front 
and behind, so that when the wind blows — well, im- 
agine the rest. They are a fine set — Father Caillet 
does not think so. But what a sight when we emerg- 
ed from the mountains, through a short tunnel (a 
gate, it looked like) into the desert! On one side, 
bleak mountains, low clouds, rain, raw wind; one 
minute after, a beautiful clear sl^, immense date- 
tree fields, and a vast expanse of desert. It was a 
dream. 

What do you think of going to Mass in the Sa- 

[ 79 ] 



LETTERS 

hara? It is what we did yesterday, Sunday. And 
a beautiful little church they have here. The city 
is in the first oasis, with over one hundred thousand 
date-trees, and as it takes very few trees to feed 
a family, the Arab population is large. What fun 
it is to wander and lose one's way in the innumer- 
able irrigation ditches, — curs barking at you, 
children staring, or running to their mammas, ur- 
chins following you until you give them backshish, 
women looking slightly from behind their face cov- 
ering, the men scowling, or appearing indifferent. 
I wish some one of you were here to enjoy the 
sights. 

I believe I have not written since Lourdes. I 
was rather disappointed with Spain. True, the 
crossing of the Pyrenees was grand, but the other 
mountains were very dreary and so the immense 
plains. But the cities were very interesting, es- 
pecially Cordova and Grenada. Gibraltar was as 
I expected, but Tangiers, in Morocco! Oh, the 
nasty stinking city and people! Pouah! I have 
the stench in my nostrils yet. But yet all is very 
picturesque. But in Algeria the natives are much 
better in every sense. They are becoming civilized. 
They work in the city and country. There are 
lawyers, doctors, rich merchants amongst them, 
even officers with the cross of honor. And how 
grandly the better classes wear their graceful cos- 
tumes! Unfortunately, we saw no women of the 

[ 80 ] 




^;^ -^^-^^S*^— 



LETTERS 

better class in the streets. They are entirely con- 
fined in the harems, and men are not allowed there. 

Well, we start tomorrow for Constantine, and 
then Tunis, where we will take the steamer for 
Malta, and that will be the limit of our eastern 
trip. I find that although my health has improved 
greatly, yet the cause of my ill health remains, and 
I have made up my mind to go and spend a month 
at Carlsbad. I think that since I have undertaken 
this expensive trip for my health, I ought to do all 
I can to obtain that object. It breaks my heart 
not to see Egypt and Jerusalem. But I have not 
the time and the money to do all, so I will do the 
most necessary. 

Father Caillet agrees perfectly with me, and 
thinks it is the best thing I can do. So we will do 
Italy thoroughly, and then he will go to Lyons, 
stay there a couple of weeks, and then come to meet 
me at Carlsbad, whence we will start for Home, 
through Germany, Belgium and Paris. So you 
will see me sometime in April. 

And now, my dear Mary, I wish you all a Merry 
Christmas and happy New Year. Give my love 
to James and all, and kiss the babies for me. I 
wish you could kiss the dear little one that is gone. 

Your affectionate Uncle, 

A. Chemidlin. 



[ 81 ] 



LETTERS 

XVII 

Tunis, 28th Dec, 1889. 

Mrs. John S. Prince, 
St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Prince: 

My intention was to have written to you from 
Biskra, but instead I sent some views from there, 
hoping that it would be pleasing to see that in the 
desert we still thought of our dear friends in St. 
Paul. Since then we have visited Constantine and 
Tunis. Yesterday was a precious day in every re- 
spect. First, it was a lovely day. We had charming 
weather. Then we made a most interesting ex- 
cursion to Carthage. First of all, to the chapel 
of St. Louis, erected on the spot where he died, a 
victim to the disease which he had contracted in 
waiting on his dying soldiers, struck with the 
plague. Then T had the happiness of offering the 
Holy Sacrifice, and Mr. Chemidlin that of waiting 
on me at the altar. After breakfasting at the home 
of the White Fathers in charge of the chapel, we 
proceeded to visit their museum of archeology, con- 
sisting entirely of objects found on the spot. It 
was the most interesting portion of our excursion. 
The Father who accompanied us was the collector 
himself of those objects. There he read to us out 
of those inscriptions, lamps, coins and statues, the 

[ 82 ] 



LETTERS 

history of the three periods of the famous city 
which once made Rome, then the mistress of the 
world, tremble. We saw Carthage as she was in her 
glory, then the Carthage as rebuilt by the Ro- 
mans, and, finally, the Christian Carthage. Thus 
we were prepared to go amid the ruins that had 
been laid open from the bosom of the earth where 
they had lain concealed for centuries. Without 
this preparation we would have seen only heaps of 
stones, broken columns, remnants of walls, etc., 
which we could not have understood. But thus 
prepared, we could reconstruct that which once 
was, and almost see Carthage. Add to this that the 
spot is most charming. Situated on a promontory, 
you have on one side a cape, and on the other, the 
whole expanse of the sea, on another, a fine lake, 
and, as a background, the last spurs of those moun- 
tains of Atlas. What a splendid site! But now 
instead of the great city, nothing but her burial 
ground! We took our lunch at the foot of a cross 
planted where the body of a martyr had been found, 
and discoursed; you may well imagine the thoughts 
which the scene before us caused to rush to our 
minds. 

Tomorrow we shall leave for Malta and thence 
for Naples. We have given up the trip to Egypt 
and Palestine, which would have proved too fatigu- 
ing, and Uncle will, instead, take a season at Carls- 
bad, while I will visit at Lyons. We will, of course, 

[ 83 ] 



LETTERS 

visit the principal cities of Italy. My health leaves 
nothing to be desired, and I feel perfectly well, al- 
though somewhat lonesome for my friends in St. 
Paul, so much so, that were it not for the object I 
had in view in leaving, viz., rest, I would be tempt- 
ed to shorten the trip. But we will not. Mr. Che- 
midlin has improved very much, indeed, yet I feel 
satisfied that the remedy has not reached the root 
of his trouble and, therefore, have encouraged his 
trip to Carlsbad. He is always cold and suffers 
from over-fatigue and irregularities. You have 
no idea how much of our thoughts and talk you and 
your beloved family occupy. How often we say, 
"Oh, how Mrs. Prince would enjoy this, and Fan- 
ny and Grace." As for dear Mr. Prince, we know 
also what he would like, and say to one another 
what we fancy he would himself say. Tell him 
how pleased I was with the very kind and nice let- 
ter he wrote me. Give my love to John, Fanny 
and Grace, and when you write, remember me also 
to Nettie and family and to dearest Emma. Con- 
gratulate her for me on that little one God has 
given her, and tell her that it will be one of the 
pleasures of my return to make a visit to the new- 
comer. With kindest regards to all, I remain very 
sincerely yours in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 



[ 84 ] 



LETTERS 

XVIII 

Naples, Jan. 12, 1890. 

Miss Clara Hill. 
My dear Clara: 

Just returned from an excursion that will count 
in my life. What I have seen will forever be im- 
printed in my mind. Not even the Alhambra nor 
the Sahara has made such an impression on me — 
4000 feet above the sea — no great height to be sure, 
but such a glorious view! First, below my feet, 
a pandemonium of lava; below, villas, vineyards, 
orange orchards; and then, far, far below, the ra- 
vishing Campania, enclosed by more mountains, ex- 
tending 75 miles away on the left, dotted with vil- 
las, villages and cities, the whole looldng like a blue 
frozen sea, for we are so high that the atmosphere 
below looks like our soft blue Minnesota skies. 
Right in front, Naples rising in amphitheatre, and 
on the left, the bay, looking also like blue ice, with 
black dots here and there, like decoy ducks, but 
which are the little sailing-boats which can be 
counted by the hundreds. We turn around the 
corner, and there another surprise takes your 
breath away. The same lava, villas, orchards and 
vineyards again, and then Pompeii, and then the 
glorious bay closed by Capri, and on the left, 
mountains springing from the water with Castella- 
mare and Sorrento and numerous villages clinging 

[ 85 ] 



LETTERS 

to its base for protection. (Ouf I what an old fool 
I am with my youthful enthusiasms. Stop that 
now! don't laugh at me.) Anyway, if I did feel 
a choking in my throat at the sudden view, a Rus- 
sian lady fairly burst out crying, and her husband 
fainted at the brink of the crater. Was it fright? 
He said he was asthmatic. 

The ride from Naples in a carriage to the cable 
took us four delightful hours, and then the cable, 
eight miimtes of delightful or extremely painful 
sensations, for the rise is 70 degrees I suppose, 
twice as steep as St. Anthony's cable ascent*, and 
then a quarter of an hour of easy zigzag road, and 
then the hot, soft lava, sulphuric smoke all around, 
which is not quite up to violet perfume, and then, 
leaning on the arm of a guide, you pick your way 
amongst the hot, yellow lava; you ascend about 20 
or 30 feet without stumbling, if you can, and then, 
Hell spouting fire and brimstone and stones sever- 
al hundred feet high, with loud explosions. I did 
not stay long, for fear my hat might get hurt. 
Father Caillet would not come at all, thinking, I 
suppose, his life was more valuable than mine. 

I do not know whence I wrote to you last, but I 
know that I wrote to the boys from Malta telling 
them all about Africa. And by the by, I hope 
your mother has received, ere now, the little basket 

•Selby HiU. 

[ 86 ] 



LETTERS 

of dates I sent her from the Sahara as a Christmas 
card. 

Our trip through Sicily was dehghtful. SvTa- 
cuse, especially, was full of interest. Think a 
little. Ruins from the Greeks, Carthaginians, Ro- 
mans and Spaniards. The most interesting is a 
Greek theatre cut entirely in the rock. The audito- 
rium is very large, composed of a semicircle of 
seats cut in the rock. The amphitheatre, just like 
a circus, and the stage, very large also, is at the 
bottom. These are ruins that will last forever. 

And then the flowers everywhere. At the foot 
of Etna (which we, unfortunately, could not see) 
it was simply gorgeous. Yellow flowers enough 
to satisfy even vour mother. And then the ion- 
quils, and the narcissus, and the ranunculus, and 
the wild fleurs-de-lys, much more beautiful than 
any cultivated I have seen. Oh, dear, what delight! 
Why have I not some young girl, whom I have in 
my mind's eye now, with me to enjoy it. That 
horrible Father Caillet I am perfectly disgusted 
with. All I can get out of him is a kind of grunt 
of satisfaction. And he doesn't even often make 
me a present of that. Sometimes I feel like mur- 
dering him for his want of outward feeling. What 
are features given us for, if they are not to be the 
mirror of our souls? (Ouf ! there is another explo- 
sion. Have pity. ) 

To come here from Messina (where I had the 

[ 87] 



LETTERS 

sweetest oranges I ever ate) we took a roundabout 
wav. We followed the Mediterranean for a whole 
night, a bright moonlight night, the sea without a 
ripple, skirting the Calabrian mountains. I could 
not sleep the whole night, it was a succession of 
dreams (there, there, that will do!). In the morn- 
ing, we crossed the range to Salerno, and then a 
last range, through the most beautiful gorge I have 
yet seen, to Naples. We did not meet any brig- 
ands. They have been driven into the cities where 
the}'^ lurk aroimd hotels and museums. They don't 
take your life, but they strip you of all your change. 
They go under different names — guides, coachmen, 
hotel waiters, maids, portiers, porters, boot-blacks, 
railroad employees, etc., etc., etc. I was very much 
disappointed in Naples itself. They are trying 
to make it a modern city, and have driven out the 
true lazzaroni and left nothing but the out-and-out 
beggar. Not even many of those. 

I found your last letter here. No need to tell 
you it gave me much pleasure. I hope with all 
my heart that you will be perfectly well on my re- 
turn, and that you will be able to go on with French 
with renewed energy. For the more I go the 
more I find French is the universal language. With 
it you can go and be understood everywhere. In 
Spain, Africa, Malta, Italy, it is all the same. At 
table, they speak good, bad and indifferent French. 
At the stations, in the cars, even the cabmen will 

[ 88 ] 



LETTERS 

give you no trouble if you speak French to them. 
Going up the Vesuvius we were five. Two Rus- 
sians, one German, one Itahan and your humble 
servant. Well, the German started in German ; no 
one understood him. The Russian attempted a lit- 
tle English. I took him up, helped him along a little 
while, but it was no go. Finally, I asked him if he 
could speak French. He did, better than I. His 
wife did, beautifully; the Italian, pretty well; and 
finally, that rascally Dutchman had to succumb, 
and, I tell you, he spoke well. Moral — study 
French. 

Of course, we visited the ruins of Pompeii, or 
rather Pompeii, for you cannot call it ruins. There 
you see Roman life such as it was at the time of 
the empire's glory. It is wonderful how little new 
there is under the sun. Their household was very 
much like ours. Their kitchen utensils were en- 
tirely ours, their surgical instruments were very 
little different, and their dentists used just as 
wicked looking instruments as they use now. You 
have to see these remains to understand that the 
Romans led about the same life that we do. Only 
they were nasty brutes. 

Rome, Jan. 12th. 

Father Caillet interrupted me in my last eflFu- 
sions and saved you from another four page inflic- 
tion, to go and take a ride to Sorrento. I won't 
commence about it, I would never stop. What a 
ridel Why are we alone to enjoy it? 

[ 89 ] 



LETTERS 

We are here for about two weeks, and then 
northern Italy, and then Carlsbad — Lent after 
carnival. Why, oh, why, doesn't Mary answer my 
letter from the home of the Maid? She used to 
care more for me. Give her and Precious and 
Precious' father and all the family my love, and 
receive the most profound respects from your ab- 
ject slave, 

A. Chemidlin. 

XIX 

Grand Hotel du Quirinal, 
Rome, 
S7th January, 1890. 

Miss Elsie Shawe. 
Dear Elsie: 

We have been so much on the go that time has 
gone without my noticing that I ought to write. 
In Naples I had a delightful little letter from dear 
Alice, which I shall answer at the first opportunity. 
We have been in Rome two weeks and were most 
favored in every way. First, we were rceived in 
private audience by the Holy Father. Think of 
it, Elsie! To be alone with the Representative of 
Christ, and to find in him the very kindest of fath- 
ers. I can assure you that I did not miss the op- 
portunity to obtain his blessing for myself and 
for the works entrusted to me, and still more es- 
pecially for those who have assisted me so faith- 

[ 90 ] 



LETTERS 

fully in attending to them. You know, dear child, 
by this that you were present before my mind in 
a most special manner, with Alice, your dear 
Mother, sisters and brother. Yesterday, we at- 
tended the ceremonies of the beatification of the 
venerable Pompilius. I will not write about the 
sight or the music. It was beautiful and grand. 
Besides, we had Benediction of the Bl. Sacrament 
given by the Holy Father himself. This is the 
second time we had the opportunity to hear the 
choir of the Sistine Chapel. Of this we will talk 
when I am home, as also of the grand Vespers at 
which I was present in the Church of St. Agnes. 

Today we leave for Florence, where we will re- 
main a few days. We are on our homeward trip 
and I am glad of it, although it will take all the 
time on the program to complete it, as Uncle in- 
tends to spend one month in Carlsbad. During 
that time 1 shall attend to business in France and 
possibly go to meet him there; not for the baths! 
Thank God, I have no use for them, as I am per- 
fectly well, and have no need of the horrid treat- 
ment, which I abominate anyway. Uncle is very 
well but looks wuth horror at the trial before him, 
and it would not take much persuasion to dissuade 
him from going. This I will not do, but leave it 
entirely to himself. 

So, dear Alice is now Mrs. Mclver, yet always 
Alice for me and never will be anything else. I 

[ 91 ] 



LETTERS 

am so glad because so hopeful that she will be hap- 
py! Everything leads to that belief, and certainly 
I have prayed that it may be so or not at all. 

You do not say much about matters, I mean 
business matters at home; for I suppose, there is 
very little to say. Winter is a poor time to dis- 
pose of property, but I hope that with spring there 
may be better opportunities, and by availing your- 
selves of them the ship may be sighted again, and 
your mother freed from her many anxieties. 

When you see Mrs. Smith, will you remember 
me very kindly to her, and tell her that I remember 
her at the right places. 

Well, I have to prepare for the train, so will 
close this letter with the assurance of the affection 
with which I remain yours in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 

Kindest regards to all at home and inquiring 
friends, especially to the one on the other side of 
the street, to Mr. McLachlan, and all the members 
of the choir. 



[ 92 ] 




( 




GERTRUDE HILL, 1889 



GRACE PRINCE, 1896 









WALTER HILL, 1889 



ALICE SHAWE, 1889 



LETTERS 



XX 

Lyom, Ist March, 1890. 



Deak Mrs. Hill: 



Your very kind letter came this morning just 
as I was debating with myself whether or not I 
would go down town. The matter was settled with- 
out further consideration. I am glad to hear that 
you are all well, and that the influenza has spared 
your family. As to Mary, I hope that she will 
soon regain her former strength and feel again 
like herself. Please remember me very kindly to 
her and to her husband, without forgetting Mary 
the fourth. How nicely dear Gertrude writes ! I 
was perfectly delighted with her lovely little letter. 
Tell her I will not fail answering it. Mr. Chemid- 
lin has gone to Carlsbad, and I can assure you that 
I have almost regretted having assented to his 
proposition of going to take those waters at the ex- 
pense of Egypt and Palestine. When this deci- 
sion was come at, we were in Algiers. He was 
tired and worn, unable to endure either much fa- 
tigue or irregularity. We could not give the time 
for both journeys, and the question of choice was 
proposed by himself. I immediately told him 
that the choice was his, and that I would gladly 
concur in an}i;hing he would decide. He then de- 
cided for Carlsbad. Since then he has been im- 
proving very much, especially the last few weeks, 

[ 93 ] 



LETTERS 

and had he felt as well when in Naples, we would 
have changed our itinerary and sailed for Egypt. 
But now he has gone, and I have had no news 
from him, although he promised to write as soon 
as he would have consulted the physicians there. 
I could have gone myself to the East while he is 
remaining in Carlsbad, but he would have felt bad- 
ly and this would mar my own pleasure ; so I won't 
go, notwithstanding my desire. 

Since my last letter to you we have gone over 
much ground, having been in Morocco, Algeria and 
Tunisia, and as far as the great Sahara. We have 
visited Malta, Syracuse, Messina, traversed the 
Calabrian mountains, seen Naples "and did not 
die," although Uncle came near doing so on Mt. 
Vesuvius, when he had such an ecstacy that there 
must have been a doubt for a moment whether he 
would come to or not. But he did survive. We 
then went to Rome. Ah, there he had another crit- 
ical moment. This was while visiting the ruins. 
I really thought at times that I would have to 
leave him there a corpse and a corpse made by dis- 
gust. But I know the remedy to revive him every 
time: flowers and a good fire. Behold the pana- 
cea that cures him from all fits of disappointment 
and blue moments. We visited Florence, Venice, 
Milan and Genoa. Well, our trip there was not 
a perfect success, the weather being cold and dis- 
agreeable. But in Nice we came very near making 

[ 94 ] 



LETTERS 

shipwreck among flowers and sunshine. Actually, 
I thought I could never drag Uncle away, so 
charmed and enraptured he was with masquerade 
processions, battle of flowers, etc., etc. The heavens 
came to the rescue, and one morning we beheld the 
hills around Nice clad in "the beautiful," and he 
was at last persuaded to leave the mundanities of 
Nice and the breakers of Monte Carlo. We came 
to Lyons, and found there fog enough to dampen 
all his juvenile propensities; also, he did not ex- 
actly care to remain more than was needed to have 
clothes made capable of enclosing his surplus flesh ; 
for with all due respect, his person was no longer 
contained in the others. He actually weighed 
twenty-one pounds more than he did when at the 
farm, and he had almost to lean forward to behold 
his pedal extremities. He got his clothes and went, 
and now I am here waiting to hear from him before 
I make my plans homeward. The day before yes- 
terday I had a letter from MoUie in which she told 
me at once of her being in Paris, of her visit to 
Lyons next week, and, particularly, not to forget 
the new name, which is Madame Edward Fitz- 
gerald. You may well think how careful I was 
not to direct my letter to Mollie McQuillan, Paris. 
I hope to hear from her again, and to spend next 
Tuesday with her and her husband, which will be a 
great pleasure to me. T am so glad that Alice has 
also been married, and that to Mr. Mclver. I have 

[ 95 ] 



LETTERS 

always entertained a very good opinion of him, be- 
cause I knew he was extremely kind to his mother 
and also to his sister. Such a man scarcely ever 
fails to be a good husband. Then you know how 
much I thought of Alice, and how I desired that 
she would meet a good husband. Now, I thank 
God that He has granted this wish of mine, and 
feel certain that she will be a good wife. I thank 
you also for your kind attention to her in visiting 
her, sure as I am that your kindness will do her as 
much good as it will give her pleasure. 

Our visit in Rome will never be forgotten either 
by Mr. Chemidlin or myself. Through the Prop- 
aganda, we were granted a private audience by 
the holy Father. I had seen and spoken to him be- 
fore, but how different to be alone with him! How 
Jdndly he asked about my charge ! How encourag- 
ing were his words! You may be assured that I 
did not forget my friends while with him, and es- 
pecially yourself, Mr. Hill, the boys and all the 
family. My trust is that the blessing of Christ's 
representative on earth will go a great way in help- 
ing them both for their spiritual and temporal wel- 
fare. When we returned to the hotel both of us 
had the same idea, expressed it in the same words. 
If only Mr. Hill could be there, how he would ap- 
preciate such a man, so morally powerful, so in- 
tellectual, and at the same time, so simple without 

[ 96 ] 



LETTERS 

the least ostentation, so fatherly and truly the serv- 
ant of Christ's servants. 

Yesterday we had a diminutive snow blizzard, 
and in Lyons it was quite unpleasant, and the wind 
blew quite cold during the night and this morning. 
When I entered the sacristy to prepare for Mass, 
the first question put to me was "Have you such 
cold weather in your country?" When I looked 
at the report in the morning paper, the mercury had 
gone down the night before to about 27 degrees 
above our zero, and I felt quite comfortable. 

I am very glad to hear that Clara is improving 
so well, and hope and pray that the treatment she 
takes may be entirely successful. Please give my 
kindest regards to Mr. Hill and my love to all the 
children. Tell Charlotte that Mr. Chemidlin, 
knowing her eagerness to take French lessons, will 
make all possible speed to respond to her yearnings, 
and that, if she wishes it, he is fully prepared to 
double the number of her lessons. As to Clara, he is 
firmly determined to speak nothing but German, 
and for this end will devote his whole time to the 
study of his favorite tongue, and has strong hopes 
of succeeding, with the help of salt water, beer and 
sauerkraut. He ought to, since in every place he 
was addressed in German, placed at table with 
them, and poor me, on his account, taken also for 
a Teuton. 

Well, it is time to stop all this nonsense I have 
been ^vriting and hope you will agree with me. 

[ 97 ] 



LETTERS 

Wishing you all well, and hoping to be with you 
all very soon, I remain very sincerely your friend 
in Christ, 

L. Caillet. 

Do not forget to remember me kindly to the 
boys when you see them. 

XXI 

Carlsbad, March 6th, 1890. 

Miss Clara Hill, 
Saint Paul. 

My Dear Clara: 

Miserere mei — De profundis Dust to dust 

-Four glasses of abominable water, taken at 



intervals of twenty minutes, commencing at seven 
in the morning, the intervals filled with walking, 
with the thermometer below zero. I shall turn in- 
to a naiade. And with that, a diet fit for an 
anchorite, no soup, no vegetables, only roast meat, 
red wine ad libitum, but mixed with that nauseous 
water (luckily the doctor forgot to state the pro- 
portion), and only four cigars a day! What is 
going to become of those twenty-one pounds I 
succeeded in laying on my old bones with so much 
labor? They felt so comfortable, those twenty- 
one pounds, and they are already showing signs 
of departure. I did not want Carlsbad to give 

[ 98 ] 



LETTERS 

me peachy cheeks, I had them, those peachy 
cheeks, and how can bones look peachy under the 
skin? Ah! Father Caillet, you have to answer for 
it. 

But the villainous trick he has just played on 
me! I left him two weeks ago at Lyons. He 
was to stay there about two weeks and then come 
slowly to meet me here. Do you know what he 
has done? Just started for Nice with Tiny Kel- 
ly, Molly and her husband. You will understand 
the shabbiness of the thing when I tell you that 
he would hardly stay a few days in that paradise, 
and that I had to get red hot before he would stay 
for the battle of flowers. He was in a hurry to 
get rid of me, I suppose. And now, do you know 
what he writes? After Nice, the gentleman will 
go to Paris and wait for me there. If my funds 
were not getting low, I would play the gentleman 
one and a half tricks for his one. But he won't 
lose it. 

Was it not from Naples I wrote to you last? 
Rome disappointed me, and surpassed my expec- 
tations. I could not, like Father Caillet, enthuse 
before broken heads, arms, legs imbedded in 
garden walls. The ruins left me cold. True, the 
Coliseum must have been magnificent before pal- 
aces were built of its stones, and the bronze coat- 
ing had been converted into money. The fact is, 
what remains of it looks grand. Oh! these Ro- 

[ 99 ] 



LETTERS 

mans, I have always hated their history. A nation 
of robbers. Romulus and Remus were chiefs of rob- 
bers. After stealing sheep, they stole the Sabine 
women. Their successors became robbers of na- 
tionalities. Then after losing the power, they 
became brigands in the mountains, and now they 
rob the travelers. In all the museums, if you ask, 
"Whose work is that?" invariably the answer is, 
"Greek." True, their alto-relievos are full of 
movement. But approach — there is no beauty, 
no delicacy in the figures. All is coarse. 

The brick ruins of the palaces are dungeons, 
the amphitheaters tell of slaughter. How differ- 
ent the remains of Greece ! 

But what raised my enthusiasm were the works 
of the Renaissance. That is the only bright page 
in ItaUan history. What immense difference be- 
tween Pagan art and Christian art! The Greek 
represents the most beautiful human body in the 
most perfect manner, but there is no soul. Michael 
Angelo and his almost-equals cared more for the 
soul than for the body. Their statues are cloth- 
ed, but what a world of inspiration in the faces and 
postures. If you could see the Muses, if you could 
see St. Cecilia and the thousands of others that 
people the churches and even the museums! 

As for the paintings — too bad! another one of 
my ideals is broken; but how puny the French 

[ 100 ] 



LETTERS 

school of painting of the present day compared 
with the works of those geniuses ! 

As for St. Peter's, well, it is the temple to sing 
the "Gloria in Excelsis" in, as the church of the 
Escurial is fit only for the "De profundis". No 
doubt Father Caillet described in one of his letters 
to your mother our kind reception by the Pope, 
so I won't repeat. Florence we saw at its best 
and at its worst. The first day was a fine June 
day; after, Oh! it was cold. Venice cold, Milan 
cold, did I not suffer though! But as soon as we 
reached Nice, everything was in bloom. We got 
there just for the carnival. My dear, if you ever 

want to go to paradise before dying 

(A. Chemidlin) 

XXII 

St. Paul, May 17. 1891. 

Miss Ciara Hill, 
Columbia Heights, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Ma bien chere Clara: 

Charitable comme vous Fetes, je suis certain que 
vous me pardonnerez de ne vous avoir pas repondu 
plus tot. N'allez pas croire du moins, qu'il m'a fallu 
presque deux mois pour vous composer une letter 
en fran^ais. Non, ce n'est pas la mon excuse. Le 
fait est que je n'en ai point si ce n'est mon invet- 

[ 101 ] 



LETTERS 

eree paresse. Et cependant 9a m'avait fait un 
bien grand plaisir de voir que vous pensiez un peu 
a votre vieil ami, et j'aurais du vous en remercier 
en vous repondant de suite. 

Pendant I'absence de Sam, j'ai passe presque 
toutes les nuits chez Marie, et je vous assure que 
je suis encore devenue plus intime avec Mary 
Mendenhall, si cela se peut. EUe est jolie a cro- 
quer, parle comme une pie (comme une certaine 
tante) et n'en veut faire qu'a sa tete (tou jours 
comme cette tante). II y a quelques jours, a de- 
jeuner, elle voulut avoir de mon cafe. Sa maman 
dit, non! Mademoiselle fit une moue et dit, 
"Baby go to grocery and buy coffee." Ca promet. 
Elle danse comme une fee, chante comme un pin- 
son, et gronde comme sa tante. Vous rappelez- 
vous comme vous aviez I'habitude de me gronder, 
quand je ne me conduisais pas bien? 

Je suis charme que vous m'ayez ecrit en fran9ais, 
et surtout que vous I'ayez fait sans grammaire ni 
dictionnaire, ce qui fait preuve de beaucoup de 
courage. 

J'ai bien peur, si les rapports sont vrais, que 
notre Charlotte ne soit pas encore a meme de 
m'ecrire dans la langue que j'aime. La Malheu- 
reuse! Avec son accent, qui est meilleur que le 
votre (ne vous en deplaise), et ses talents, elle 
aurait fait une eleve admirable. 11 faut esperer 

[ 102 ] 



LETTERS 

que cela viendra; il lui sera bien facile de reparer 
le temps perdu. 

Les nouveaux domestiques venus d'Angleterre 
amusent beaucoup les enfants avec leurs "h's" 
ajoutes et retranches. L'un d'eux demandait 
Fautre jour, si Miss 111 etait hill. Le malheureux 
voulait dire "Is Miss Hill ill?" 

Je crois bien qu'a votre retour la maison sera 
presque terminee. Les tableaux sont pendus, 
I'orgue est pose, et je crois qu'il n'y a plus que le 
rez-de-chausse a terminer. On donne les der- 
nieres touches au grand salon et a la salle de 
musique. Ce sera merveilleux. Devenez vite 
jolies afin que les habitantes soient dignes de In- 
habitation. Quant a Ruth elle n'a aucune peur. 

Et parlant de Ruth, vous ne sauriez croire quels 
progres elle fait en franc^ais. Sans aucune excep- 
tion, sans aucime, entendez vous, c'est la meilleure 
eleve que j'aie jamais cue. 

Tout le monde, sans en excepter le pere Caillet, 
se porte a merveille. Quant a moi, helas! j'ai 
perdu I'elegance de ma taille. 

Serait-ce trop vous dem.ander si je vous priais 
de m'ecrire avant votre retour? Charite, s'il vous 
plait. 

Votre affectione, 

A. Chemidlin. 



[ 103 ] 



LETTERS 



XXIII 

St. Paul, May 17, 1891. 



My DExVREst Clara: 



Charitable as you are, I am sure that you will 
forgive me for not having replied to you sooner. 
At least, do not think that it took me almost two 
months to compose a letter in French. No, that 
is not my excuse. The fact is, I have none, unless 
it is my inveterate laziness. Nevertheless, it gave 
me great pleasure to see that you thought a little 
of 5'^our old friend, and I should have thanked you 
by replying at once. 

During Sam's absence I have passed almost 
every night at Mary's house, and I assure you that 
I have become still more intimate with Mary 
Mendenhall, if that were possible. She is pretty 
enough to eat, chatters like a magpie (like a cer- 
tain aunt) and wants her own way, still like the 
same aunt. Some days ago, at breakfast, she 
wanted to have my coffee. Her mother said, 
"No." Mademoiselle pouted and said, "Baby go 
to the grocery and buy coffee." That is promis- 
ing. She dances like a fairy, sings like a lark, and 
scolds like her aunt. You remember how you 
have the habit of scolding me when I do not be- 
have well? 

I am delighted that you wrote to me in French, 
and, above all, that you did it without grammar or 

[ 104 ] 



LETTERS 

dictionary, which is proof of a great deal of cour- 
age. I am very much afraid, if reports are true, 
that our Charlotte is not yet as ready to write me 
in the language I love. The naughty girl! with 
her accent, which is better than yours (don't be 
displeased), and her talents, she would have made 
an admirable scholar. We must hope that this 
will come about. It would be easy for her to make 
up for lost time. 

The new men-servants from England amuse the 
children very much with their h's added and 
dropped. One of them asked the other day 
whether Miss 111 were hill. The poor fellow meant 
to say, "Is Miss Hill ill?" 

I am sure that on your return the house will 
be almost finished ; the pictures are hung, the organ 
is placed, and I believe there is nothing but the 
basement to finish. They are giving the last 
touches to the drawing room and the music room. 
It will be marvelous. Become pretty quickly, so 
that the inhabitants may be worthy of the habita- 
tion. As for Ruth she need have no fear. 

And speaking of Ruth, you would not believe 
what progress she makes in French. Without 
any exception, without any, understand, she is the 
best pupil that I have ever had. 

Everybody, not excepting Father Caillet, is 
wonderfully well. As for me, alas! I have lost 
the elegance of my figure. 

[ 105 ] 



LETTERS 

Would it be asking too much if I begged you to 
write before your return. Charity, please. 

Yours affectionately, 

A. Chemidlin. 

XXIV 

Vevey, 23 Aug., 1895. 

Miss Elsie Shawe^ 
St. Paul. 

Dear Elsie: 

Many thanks for your kind and most welcome 
letter of the 9th. I hope that you are all having 
a good time at the Lake. The precariousness of 
Mr. Prince's condition has saddened both Mr. 
Chemidlin and myself very much, for I had hoped 
from news I had received that he was rather better. 
Please give him my most affectionate regards and 
those of Mr. Chemidlin, and extend the same to 
all the members of the family. 

As for us, we have been blessed in a very special 
manner. The treatment at Vichy was successful 
with both of us; and the good results seem to im- 
prove instead of diminishing as time passes on. 
We are taking the remedies ordered by the Vichy 
doctor. This course may last for some three weeks 
yet. After this we shall turn toward home, and 
then follow Dr. Smith's advice, if he has any to 
give. I wish, dear Elsie, that you could be here 

[ 106 ] 




MONSIGNOR LOUIS CAILLET, ABOUT 1893 



LETTERS 

with us and enjoy the beautiful scenery spread 
before us. We are on the shores of Lake Geneva. 
In front of us we have a massif of high mountains 
— to our left, still higher, the beginning of snow; 
back of us we have most beautiful hills which at 
home we would call mountains. These are all 
planted with grape vines and fruit trees, and inter- 
spersed with villages and liamlets. I wish you 
could behold on those mountains the effects of 
light at sunrise and sunset. You w^ould surely 
think that you had never even dreamt of such pos- 
sibilities. Next Monday we are going on an ex- 
cursion to Chamounix, near the "Mer-de-Glace." 
This will take us three days, and after a little rest 
I intend to direct my way to Rotterdam, where I 
shall see the Beaupre's. 

I am beginning to feel lonesome and wish for 
home. A life among strangers would not fill my 
wants, no matter how beautiful the surroundings. 

Now with much love to all at home and to Mary 
and Mr. Smith, I remain very sincerely, your 
friend, 

L. Caillet. 



[ 107 ] 



LETTERS 

XXV 

Vevey, 31 August, 1895. 

Mrs. James J. Hill, 

Summit Ave., St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Hill: 

Your very kind letter followed us to Vevey. 
We selected this spot as a charming one for rest, 
and convenient for excursions to beautiful sights. 
We made one to Chamounix at the very foot of 
the Mont Blanc. I was satisfied to go to its sum- 
mit through the means of a powerful telescope, 
which enables us to behold its grandeur and dan- 
gers of ascent in a very safe and comfortable man- 
ner. 

I did one foolish thing. I climbed the mountain 
on foot as far as the crossing of the glacier of the 
Grands Bossons, and did cross the glacier and 
went to see the grotto under the glacier. It was 
foolish for an old man, but the way it happened 
was this: the man who had come with me, I un- 
derstood, knew well the places around, but when 
we crossed the glacier and had come to about the 
middle of it, he told me he had to go back as his 
head was getting dizzy. At first, I did not believe 
him, and continued my way, till, when looking back, 
I saw him far away to the other side. As I did not 
know one way better than the other, I kept on, and 
descended safely the ice steps, down the bank on 

[ 108 ] 



LETTERS 

the other side, although there was nothing to keep 
one in case of shpping; went to see the grotto and 
made my way back by a far better road on the 
other side of the ghicier. In the afternoon, Mr. 
Chemidhn wished to go to see a cascade some 1500 
feet high. I told him the game was not worth the 
candle, but he accused me of not being a lover of 
nature, etc.. so I went, and he has been sick ever 
since. On the day we arrived at Chamounix, two 
guides and a young gentleman from Austria had 
perished in crossing to the summit. So the tele- 
scope is the best way. Mr. Chemidlin, I am sorry 
to say, is not well; he cannot endure fatigue, and, 
although ambitious, I will not let him have his way 
to go farther in Switzerland. We will leave here 
next week for Basle and Strasbourg, and while I 
go to see the Beaupre's for a couple of days he will 
go to his native place and to Paris. There he will 
wait for me, and we may be able to leave Havre on 
the Champagne on the 14th Sept. All this must 
lead vou to the conclusion that I am very well and 
that something has done much good. I continue 
the remedies the Vichy doctor gave me, and hope 
they will complete the cure. 

Please give my kindest regards to Mr. Hill and 
the entire family, without forgetting Mr. and Mrs. 
Samuel Hill and the children. I remain 

Very sincerely yours, 

L. Caillet. 

Mr. Chemidlin sends his best regards to all. 

[ 109 ] 



LETTERS 

XXVI 

Vichy, 11 August, 1896. 

Miss Shawe^ 
St. Paul. 

Dear Elsie: 

Your kind and most interesting letter came yes- 
terday, and, notwithstanding its kindness, I feel 
bound to find fault with you for not having availed 
yourself of Grace's invitation. You need a rest, 
and that was the very kind of rest which would have 
done you good and which you would have enjoyed. 
Alas, some people do not realize what is good for 
them ! I am sorry to see that you are of that num- 
ber. As for myself, I am very well and have every 
reason to hope that my season will result in a lasting 
good. I cannot say the same for the pleasure, for 
my season has been without almost any interrup- 
tion a season of rain and rather cool weather. I 
would almost say cold, if I dared to charge la belle 
France with that crime in July and August. Any- 
way, my overcoat and rubbers have done much good 
service. 

There is one thing I have realized and that 
is how hard a work the work of killing time is. I 
do not know but it is easier to let time kill you. No 
danger of protracting my visit to France; better 
twenty and more degrees below and something to 
do and a few friends to talk with than even summer 

[ 110 ] 



LETTERS 

weather, etc., all you can imagine in fact, and have 
only to invent every day something to kill time. 
What if you have only rain and mud I I intend to 
take the very first steamer within reach where I 
can find a berth and go home. This may not be as 
soon as I wish, as it is the time when steamers are 
crowded. 1 will then spend some days in Paris, 
where there is more to entertain a stranger than at 
Vichv. 

I am very glad to hear that Mother is feeling 
better and hope she will be prepared for the winter 
so as to pass it more comfortably than the last. And 
Stella, how is she ? I hope, as usual, busy and cheer- 
ful. I received a letter from Mr. Smith which I 
have enjoyed very much. I intend to reply to it 
very soon. Tell him that I intend to vote in order 
to offset Fr. Gibbon's vote. I will vote for Mc- 
Kinley and honest money. If you see the Mc- 
Quillans tell them to prepare for the worst scolding 
of their life, unless I relent as I get near home, 
which I fear may be the case. 

Now, dear Elsie, take care of yourself and do 
not forget that lost health is the hardest thing to 
find again. It is much easier to husband it and 
keep it than to lose it and go after it, even if one 
can go. 

Is' ow, give my kind regards to your Mother, Stel- 
la, Mary and her husband, in fact, the whole family 

[ 111 ] 



LETTERS 

without forgetting Frs. Gibbons and Shea, and 
Uncle, and believe me. 
Ever your old and affectionate friend, 

L. E. Caillet. 

XXVII 

Lyons, 16 August, 1896. 

Mrs. Hill^ 
St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Hill: 

I returned to Lyons on Friday after twenty- 
four days spent in Vichy. I cannot think of any 
pleasiu-e at that place, as it rained every day with 
the exception of three or four, and I cannot think 
of anything more dismal than a watering-place in 
rainy weather. The Doctor is entirely satisfied 
with the results and assures me that there are years' 
work yet in me, provided I keep from worrying. 
This I will try to do, and hope to be helped in that 
by those I may work with. Of course, he could 
not say anything more gratifying than that there 
would be no need of extraordinary care of my 
health, for I believe truly that such life is hardly 
worth living. I hear a good deal about the politi- 
cal condition at home. While it is far from being 
reassuring, I hope that the election will turn out 
all right, and that the question in November will 
not be one of this or that political party, but one 

[ "2 ] 



LETTERS 

of the country itself; and that God will guide our 
people as He has before, and that private interest 
will yield to what is for the general good; I mean, 
public honesty. 

I am writing to you from the very house where 
I began under a true man of God to study for the 
priesthood. This morning I visited the garden and 
thought of all the places I used to go with my much 
regretted friend, Father Tissot. Our games, our 
talks, all came back. 

I am very happy to have been invited to spend 
some days here where I can have perfect rest, be- 
cause a happy rest. I celebrated yesterday in the 
dear old chapel the thirty-ninth anniversary of my 
first Mass, and I assure you that it was a great 
consolation; neither did I forget you nor Mr. Hill 
nor any of your family. In fact, I never do omit 
to pray for you even a single day, as this is the only 
and best way I have to do something in return for 
all the kindness you have always done for me. I 
do more of this when 1 am free from care than at 
other times, because I have more time and think 
more frequently of you all. I hope that you will 
do as you propose, go to the seashore and inhale 
some of that most healthful salt air which I like so 
much and which agrees so well with me. You tell 
me about the Archbishop and say that I am missed. 
It is very gratifying to me, and I may well assure 
you that my greatest comfort is to think that I may 

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LETTERS 

be able to be of some use to those who are so kind 
as to thmk something of me. 

I have received three letters from Rotterdam 
urging me to make a visit there, but I do not well 
see how I could accept, as it is a long journey and 
out of my way. I feel very sorry, for I would like 
to see Mrs. Beaupre. I am very glad to learn that 
Mrs. McQuillan's house is under way and hope 
that it will be well advanced when I return, for I 
think that a pleasant home will add much happi- 
ness to her life. 

I remain very sincerely yours, 

L. E. Caillet. 

XXVIII 

The St. Paul Seminary, 
St. Paul, Minn., 20 October, 1896. 

Mrs. Hill^ 
New York. 

Dear Mrs. Hill: 

I thank you very much for the kind letter which 
I received yesterdaj'^ informing me of the improve- 
ment in Rachel's condition. Already I had heard 
of her being not worse, and this, to my mind, was 
already a good and hopeful sign ; now, I trust that 
she will get better rapidly. This morning I offer- 
ed again the Holy Sacrifice for her prompt re- 
covery, and feel sure that prayer, sustained by 

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LETTERS 

3^our presence and your vigilance, will soon bring 
our dear Rachel all right. Yes, I believe that your 
presence had a very good moral effect on Rachel, 
and that this itself has helped her very much. 
Everything is going on here as usual, and notwith- 
standing that people are preparing for the election, 
the missions have opened very well, both at St. 
Mary's and at the Cathedral. Both churches were 
packed last Sunday night. 

Although I cannot say that I like Seminary life, 
T feel much better contented under the altered cir- 
cumstances than I did last year. Father Heffron 
seems to take an earnest interest in his new work 
and do it in an intelligent manner. The rest of 
the faculty are working well and are in very good 
spirits. The Archbishop is away East and I sup- 
pose has his hands full. There has been an acces- 
sion in the home of Mary Smith. A little boy has 
been born there, to the great satisfaction of both 
father and mother. The JNIcQuillans are all well, 
waiting for the completion of the new house to 
move into it. Mrs. Hardenbergh has returned and 
may be with us for a little while. How happy one 
is to rest contented at home, unless duty or neces- 
sity compels him to go away from it! We are ex- 
pecting Grace* next week, and the family alread}^ 
enjoy her coming by anticipation. I expect to go 
to see Mr. Hill and the family some day this week 

*Mrs. Louis Chemidlin, formerly Grace Prince. 

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LETTERS 

and hope I will find more good news of dear Rach- 
el. Tell her that she is not forgotten in prayer, 
and that God will help her out of her trouble, and 
that she will soon be well. 

Please give my kind regards also to Ruth and 
Charlotte, and believe me 

Yours very sincerely, 

L. E. Caillet. 

XXIX 

Saint Paul, Dec. 2, 1897. 

Mrs. James J. Hill, 

New York City. 

My Dear Mrs. Hill: 

I am most grateful to you for writing to me. I 
did not expect he would leave us so soon, and I al- 
ways hoped that he would bury me. He was more 
than a brother to me. For forty years we were 
intimate friends. When together, we both thought 
aloud and with the exception of what pertained to 
his profession, of what referred to others, he had 
nothing concealed from me ; and as for me, he knew 
me better than I knew myself. He was a strong 
man and I am a weak one, and I leaned on him. 
His loss is very hard to bear at my age. And your 
loss is as great as mine.* He could hardly have 

•Father Caillet prepared Mrs. Hill for her First Communion 
and was her particular friend and counselor. 

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^C>"^^-'"^ -^-^^^^-^-^ ^i:5i::^^^-c--e_ 



LETTERS 

loved you any better if you had been his daughter, 
and he had an equal affection for Mr. Hill and the 
children. It is very hard. 

I was with him to tlie last moment. From the 
verv moment of the attack, he lost all consciousness 
and did not suffer. Nothing but his breathing, 
which grew faster and weaker, indicated that the 
end was approaching, and he passed softly away. 

I am very happy to hear that Louis has borne 
that operation so well. I hope that soon you will 
all be back. 

Please give my love to Louis and to the girls. 

Yours very sincerely, 

A. Chemidlin. 

XXX 

Brooklyn, May £4-^9. 

Mrs. James J. Hill, 
St. Paul. 

Dear Mrs. Hill : 

You must think that I have been very rude in 
not answering your kind letter written so long ago. 
But I hope you will excuse me, for until a few days 
ago I have been unable to write. The day after I 
called upon you I had a relapse of my lumbago. 
I could not leave my bed for weeks. I am told 
that warm salt-water baths will do me much good, 
and as next Saturday we go to Far-Rockaway, I 

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LETTERS 

will try the cure, and, if after a couple of weeks I 
find no improvement, I shall start for Saint Paul. 
As it is abominably cold for the season, the sea- 
shore will not be very enjoyable, I am afraid. How 
I could have reached the age of seventy-four with 
all I have suffered in my life, I cannot imagine. 
Excuse me for speaking so much of myself. You 
know old people and patients love to speak of 
themselves. 

I was shocked at hearing of that accident on 
your return home. Providence was good to you 
and your family. It reminds me that before set- 
ting out on a journey, one had better put things 
in order for the life to come; so your great danger 
will be of some benefit to me. 

Day before yesterday, feeling pretty well, I took 
the cars for a stroll on Fifth Avenue, for, having 
not a bit of envy in my composition, I like to see 
the enjoyment that wealth procures. 

As I was strolling slowly, admiring the beautiful 
horses (and maybe the young occupants of the car- 
riages), I heard a "How do you do, Mr. Chemid- 
lin?" coming out of a procession of girls. I turned 
and saw first, Rachel, all smiles, and then Gertrude. 
It was but a short vision. I just had time to take 
my hat off, bow profoundly, and the vision had 
disappeared. 

Please remember me to all. 

Yours very sincerely, 

A. Chemidlin. 

[ H8 ] 




X 



X 



LETTERS 

XXXI 

Far-Rockaway , June 27, 1899. 

My Deab Mrs. Hill, 

After traveling around, or more likely lying hid- 
den in a corner of our excellent postoffice, your 
kind letter of June 4th has at last reached me. I 
had received a few weeks before a package from 
one of the girls. It was the "Figaro" with the his- 
tory of the Paris Exposition and a few interesting 
engi'avings of some of the buildings. As I am not 
going home as soon as I expected, I send them to 
you. They will give you a limited idea of what 
you will see next year. If the French are the worst 
politicians of the world, they make it up by bein^ 
the most artistic ; a small compensation in this utili- 
tarian age. 

At last my health is improving fast. It was the 
worst and longest attack of lumbago I ever had. 
It broke me completely down, both in body and 
spirit, but since my coming to the seashore I have 
improved wonderfully. I have only been here one 
month, and I am a new man. I had intended to 
start on the first of July, but the doctor says I must 
remain here another month to rebuild me complete- 
ly. Although I long to see St. Paul very much, I 
will take the medicine, which is not very bitter after 
all, for the place is beautiful and delightful. Only 
I am forbidden bathing in cold water. All do it; 

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LETTERS 

even Grace's little girl, who is only two and a half 
years old, rushes into the waves like a duckling. 
Even her nine months' old boy has his bathing suit 
and enjoys the water as much as the best of them. 

I am very glad to hear that you are all so well. 
Sometime ago I received a letter from Clara in 
which she writes that Mary is enjoying her time 
very much. I wish we had an Aix-les-Bains here. 
I hope she will let me know the time of her return. 
I would like so much to meet them at the wharf. 

Walter must be very happy to get his vacation 
at last. I do not know if many boys would have 
had the will to stand the lonesomeness of the place. 
I would have run away. 

I will talk nothing but French to Mary and 
James when I return to St. Paul. 

Please remember me to Mr. Hill and all the 
family. 

Yours very sincerely, 
A. Chemidlin. 



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PRESS OF 

McGILL-WARNERCO. 

ST. PAUL. MINN. 

U.S. A. 



